as in premonition
a feeling that something bad will happen
a nagging presentiment of danger
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of presentiment
Toni has been reluctant to let Amalie go out by herself—her bringing back a telescope seems to confirm some kind of fear, or presentiment.
—
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
The lavishness turns quickly into horror — Godwin gives us buckets of blood unasked for in the original — and then into a presentiment of Lear on the heath.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2020
Seen from behind, men and women bundled up in heavy coats are saturated with a mute presentiment, that of people beginning to endure.
—Han Kang, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
Those years, of course, marked respectively the peak of the frenzied optimism of the last business cycle and the first chilling presentiments of what was to come.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
The lavishness turns quickly into horror — Godwin gives us buckets of blood unasked for in the original — and then into a presentiment of Lear on the heath.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2020
Seen from behind, men and women bundled up in heavy coats are saturated with a mute presentiment, that of people beginning to endure.
—Han Kang, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
Those years, of course, marked respectively the peak of the frenzied optimism of the last business cycle and the first chilling presentiments of what was to come.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presentiment
Noun
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Add the power of premonition to the growing collection of Volantis’ gifts.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
15 Mar. 2026
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The data in the new study validates these premonitions.—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The texture is also designed to replicate the feel of a massage therapist’s hands for deeper stimulation.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Phillies game forecast After a stellar Opening Day forecast, Saturday's Rangers-Phillies game will feel more like October baseball, with a feels-like temperature of around 39 degrees for first pitch.—
Grant Gilmore,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Rabbi Irwin Kula, the panel’s moderator, asked the participants to describe their biggest fear or nightmare.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Sacramento community advocates are sounding the alarm over fears of deep city budget cuts that could impact public safety.—
Steve Large,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Bernadine was now viewed with such suspicion that Chalker’s bosses suspected a setup.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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One result of the existing system is that vote tabulations in California go on for weeks, something that frustrates the public and the media, and, in the current atmosphere, helps fuel suspicion of electoral skullduggery.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At war while worries about jobs and household costs linger, his approval is down.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
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Another worry is whether residential and small-business customers will see their bills go up to help cover the costs of the new power needed.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Tech executives have offered foreboding visions of the future of work due to AI, with ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott predicting unemployment will exceed 30% in a matter of years.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
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There’d been a sense of foreboding since the French media giant completed its $2 billion takeover of South African pay-TV company MultiChoice last year, with the company mum on its post-merger plans and suspicion rampant that cost-cutting measures were in the cards.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Presentiment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presentiment. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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