Thesaurus results for PRESENTIMENT

presentiment

noun

pri-ˈzen-tə-mənt

Definition of presentiment

as in premonition

a feeling that something bad will happen a nagging presentiment of danger

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of presentiment That presentiment lies behind the many present expressions of apocalypse. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for presentiment

Noun

In this high silk topper The Big Bambino was on top of the world with no premonition that a serious throat ailment would lead to his death in a few short years.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026
But Naipaul reminds us about how ubiquitous premonitions of catastrophe and doom were in the 1970s.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of premonition

Noun

The frenzy followed Beijing’s decision in the mid-1980s to ban imports of almost all blood products – except human albumin – amid growing fears over the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

— CNN Staff, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
Now, as my anxiety climbed, the smell was becoming inseparable from the fear.

— Ledio Cakaj, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of fear

Noun

JonBenét’s involvement in beauty pageants became fodder for tabloids, suspicion surrounded her parents even after they had been cleared as suspects, and numerous theories developed regarding who killed her.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026
Still, the response — or lack thereof — prompted suspicions among Republican lawmakers in Washington.

— Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of suspicion

Noun

In recent weeks, family members of Lincoln service members voiced worries about deteriorating mental health conditions aboard the ship, as well as sanitary conditions and food shortages.

— Khaled Wassef, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
That reflects how the world's second-largest economy remains insulated from global capital markets — and faces a deflationary environment, in contrast to inflation worries elsewhere.

— Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of worry

Noun

On his first appearance for Peak Oil, the Mancunian producer animates foreboding, percussive bass music with tricky details and Escherian grooves.

— Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026
In Nolan’s telling, his deceit and plundering portend the collapse of the Bronze Age—a foreboding warning about greedy, fading empires that feels a little too relevant.

— Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026

Definition of foreboding

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“Presentiment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presentiment. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of presentiment

noun

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