as in warning
serving as or offering a warning
a moderate tremor that some seismologists have interpreted as a premonitory sign of the catastrophic quake that is inevitable
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Recent Examples of premonitory
Engaging in physical activity may temporarily suppress tics and lessen the premonitory urge.
—
Mill Etienne, Forbes.com, 28 Feb. 2026
Many people feel an unpleasant building sensation before a tic, called a premonitory urge, describing it like an itch that needs to be scratched.
—Rena Zito, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
There is a premonitory moment, too, in this book that wrings so much drama from so many backdoor meetings.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
As is the way with these premonitory lists, not all games are guaranteed 2025 releases.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
Fashion observers had also noticed that Swift had introduced a premonitory blue bodysuit into her wardrobe at the Tuesday show.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 9 Aug. 2023
In 2020, four years since their first date, Ms. Carswell started having premonitory dreams of Ms. Wynn walking back into her life once again.
—Tiana Randall, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023
My premonitory sense of what her novels were about—Mrs. Dalloway is about some lady, The Waves is about … waves, To the Lighthouse is about going to a lighthouse—turned out to be basically accurate.
—Patricia Lockwood, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2023
Every flourish — a closeup of horses’ hooves pounding the mud, an action scene rendered in partial slow-motion, a sudden gasp as Peter’s wife, Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa), awakens from a premonitory nightmare — suggests a filmmaker constrained by the visual grammar of the Hollywood action flick.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
Mill Etienne, Forbes.com, 28 Feb. 2026
Many people feel an unpleasant building sensation before a tic, called a premonitory urge, describing it like an itch that needs to be scratched.
—Rena Zito, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
There is a premonitory moment, too, in this book that wrings so much drama from so many backdoor meetings.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
As is the way with these premonitory lists, not all games are guaranteed 2025 releases.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
Fashion observers had also noticed that Swift had introduced a premonitory blue bodysuit into her wardrobe at the Tuesday show.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 9 Aug. 2023
In 2020, four years since their first date, Ms. Carswell started having premonitory dreams of Ms. Wynn walking back into her life once again.
—Tiana Randall, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023
My premonitory sense of what her novels were about—Mrs. Dalloway is about some lady, The Waves is about … waves, To the Lighthouse is about going to a lighthouse—turned out to be basically accurate.
—Patricia Lockwood, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2023
Every flourish — a closeup of horses’ hooves pounding the mud, an action scene rendered in partial slow-motion, a sudden gasp as Peter’s wife, Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa), awakens from a premonitory nightmare — suggests a filmmaker constrained by the visual grammar of the Hollywood action flick.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for premonitory
Adjective
-
The bureau also will post more warning notices at 750 livestock sale facilities and review other potential changes to federal regulations.—
SCOTT SONNER,
Star Tribune,
27 July 2021
-
In response, statistical authorities around the world could do little but issue warning press releases.—
Andrew Whitby,
Time,
17 Apr. 2020
Adjective
-
And while the formal rules on travel have relaxed, the admonitory official language is unchanged.—
John Liu,
New York Times,
21 Jan. 2023
-
Satire has always had an admonitory function, and besides, some people are so obnoxious that a writer has to slow-walk the reader through their awfulness.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2022
Adjective
-
But the murder plot tied to his defeat became a cautionary tale about how quickly public trust can unravel.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
And there are cautionary signs.—
William Warr,
Time,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Premonitory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/premonitory. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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