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
His presentiments had been right, but all those garlic pills and pulse recordings had done nothing to save him.
—Gillian Silverman, The New Yorker, 15 July 2023
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
During the 1919 scenes she is occasionally stopped in her tracks by presentiments of what’s in store around the corner.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
His presentiments had been right, but all those garlic pills and pulse recordings had done nothing to save him.
—Gillian Silverman, The New Yorker, 15 July 2023
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
During the 1919 scenes she is occasionally stopped in her tracks by presentiments of what’s in store around the corner.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presentiment
Noun
-
Humanity, in the novel, has lived under the recurrent threat of catastrophically destructive memes—dark, self-fulfilling premonitions of scarcity, zero-sum competition, fear, mistrust, inegalitarianism.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
28 May 2025
-
However, none of the news items ever truly feels like a premonition, given their swift and uninvolving appearance, verging on ironic in intent.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
This San Carlos Embroidered Linen Blend Mini Skirt has a high-rise fit and is made from mostly linen for a soft, lightweight feel.—
Michelle Tchea,
Travel + Leisure,
7 June 2025
-
For a spa-like feel, Sue Kim, director of color marketing at Valspar, suggests the shade Fragile Blue.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
Exploiting this vulnerability, 764 members tend to elicit fear by threatening to share a victim’s explicit or harmful content with family and friends or publicly online, ultimately forcing them to comply with their demands.—
Alex Vance,
Parents,
4 June 2025
-
Choosing to be bold and to fight fear is not the easy choice.—
Mitchell W. Berger,
Sun Sentinel,
4 June 2025
Noun
-
At a time when Cold War tensions heightened curiosity and suspicion about all things Soviet, American consumers flocked to the new vodka as an edgy, exotic choice—drinking vodka became simultaneously an act of defiance and fascination.—
Time,
Time,
4 June 2025
-
Instead, this suspicion about the trailer tells a more interesting and deeper story about the relationship between marketing and proof in media.—
Callum Booth,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
-
Those worries vanished when she was accepted to Yale University.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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Fear of falling behind That worry of falling behind is something many men are wrestling with, according to a recent report by the Speaking with American Men (SAM) project, a new effort aimed at helping Democrats better reach and connect with young men.—
Elena Moore,
NPR,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
The series has so much escapist potential in its initial episodes, poking at the absurdities of abundant wealth and ladling in so much silly foreboding, only to squander it because the series is unable to create anything resembling an emotional payoff.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
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And despite the reasonable forebodings of Fleming and others, this time the outcome from geoengineering interventions should be different, though of course any intervention must be weighed against the unintended consequences that may follow.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
1 Dec. 2010
Cite this Entry
“Presentiment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presentiment. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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