as in to predict
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 portend
Julia Garner is portending bad news for Earth in the latest trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
—
Sharareh Drury, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025
In the end, though, even a build up of inventories could portend future economic slowdown since businesses spend money in the near term to avoid higher costs (and more spending) in the future.
—Christian Weller, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Nonetheless, these policies portend lasting damage to the Chinese economy, especially in view of China’s looming demographic and environmental challenges.
—Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 20 May 2025
Courtland Sutton is the No. 1 option and then Marvin Mims Jr.’s late-season surge portends a major role for him this fall.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Sharareh Drury, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025
In the end, though, even a build up of inventories could portend future economic slowdown since businesses spend money in the near term to avoid higher costs (and more spending) in the future.
—Christian Weller, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Nonetheless, these policies portend lasting damage to the Chinese economy, especially in view of China’s looming demographic and environmental challenges.
—Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 20 May 2025
Courtland Sutton is the No. 1 option and then Marvin Mims Jr.’s late-season surge portends a major role for him this fall.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend
Verb
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Prices could further spike, however, if Iran targets Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies or creates shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost 25% of total global oil consumption flows, with some experts predicting $100 oil per barrel.—
Mathias Hammer,
semafor.com,
13 June 2025
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There's no way to predict how future generations may view grief tech.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Electric boats have been moving along nicely in the last five years, but this new 45-footer from Sialia promises to be a watershed design, with its carbon-fiber hull, 12-passenger capacity, generous seating and galley in the cockpit, and choice of two- or three-staterooms with head and shower.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
10 June 2025
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The majority of investors who put their money into such schemes in the past lost everything or were left with casks not worth nearly the value that they were promised.—
Felipe Schrieberg,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Verb
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The eurozone, for example, has made little progress in recent years toward greater economic and financial integration, and its core economies have taken a populist, rightward turn, presaging political instability.—
ESWAR PRASAD,
Foreign Affairs,
23 May 2025
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The mixed messaging would presage his style as a pontiff whose doctrinal conservatism would blend with increasingly progressive public statements.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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However, today most young people rarely call each other.—
Andrea Wigfield,
CNN,
14 Feb. 2023
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Marx himself would call DEI a classic case of ideology, a set of benign-seeming ideas that disguise the workings of the rulers, in this case empowered progressives.—
WSJ,
WSJ,
14 Feb. 2023
Verb
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This gothic lampoon opens with a Mary Shelley quote that foretells the weird science to follow, but each vulgar kink is more unexpected than the last.—
Vanessa Franko,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2025
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But is the past foolproof in foretelling the future?—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
17 May 2025
Verb
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With the third season of The White Lotus well underway—and its signature sense of foreboding steadily mounting—cast member Michelle Monaghan was in anything but ominous spirits last night at The Mark Hotel.—
Laura Neilson,
Vogue,
19 Mar. 2025
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Too on-the-nose to be foreboding, such clips offer a window into Linda’s mindset, as do antagonistic sessions with her therapist (and co-worker), amusingly played by Conan O’Brien with a look of constant gastric discomfort on his face that suggests her concerns may be giving him ulcers.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Warner has restructured itself so that its cable networks operate in a separate division from its streaming assets, a move that Wall Street believes could augur a similar transaction.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
27 May 2025
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Shipments of Chinese goods to the U.S. are plunging, auguring potential supply-chain disruptions that could empty store shelves as early as this summer, some experts have warned.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portend. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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