as in predicts
formal + literary
to be a sign or warning that something usually bad or unpleasant is going to happen
The distant thunder portended a storm. If you're superstitious, a black cat portends trouble.
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Recent Examples of portends
Beasley has an offensive skillset that portends well on most teams.
—
Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
And the future portends even more dealmaking.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
If the July unemployment report portends what’s to come, the picture is bound to get gloomier.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
And the future portends even more dealmaking.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
If the July unemployment report portends what’s to come, the picture is bound to get gloomier.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portends
Verb
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By the mid-2030s, the UN predicts that the number of individuals aged 80 and older will outnumber infants.—
Rebecca Cairns,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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Child Tax Credit For 2026, Bloomberg predicts the amount of the child tax credit will be $2,200.—
KELLY PHILLIPS ERB,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As the rest of America adjusts to Homelander’s iron fist, back at Godolkin University, the mysterious new Dean (Hamish Linklater) preaches a curriculum that promises to make students more powerful than ever.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The platform promises to address complaints faster and make the process more transparent.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Hiring here usually bodes well for housing.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
7 Sep. 2025
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But the market performance bodes well for the NFL.—
Eric Jackson,
Sportico.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The question facing Federal Reserve policymakers, who will meet next week, is whether the employment numbers presages a broader slump.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But her initial comments, made Monday in light of the Charlie Kirk assassination, set off a bipartisan backlash and calls for her resignation.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Sep. 2025
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Budd’s plan calls for giving judges and magistrates more freedom to initiate their own mental health commitment proceedings.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For most, such latitude foretells a long stretch to go.—
Noah Barsky,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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No scripture foretells GPUs, gradient descent, or multimodal transformers.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portends. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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