as in predicting
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 portending
That’s when digital storefronts became prominent, portending an even bigger issue in the future.
—
Andrew Webster,
The Verge,
1 July 2026
For West, who is a storm chaser, snow in the South would be a rare and sacred gift, one that the weekend storm was portending to produce throughout the region.
—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
Rams general manager Les Snead sent two first-round picks, two second-round picks and two third-round picks to the Tennessee Titans, portending a swing-for-the-fences mentality in trades that would lead to the Rams going seven years without making another first-round pick.
—
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2026
The bad omens came early at this year’s Burning Man — the infamously wild, weeklong celebration of art, music, and unrestrained self-expression held at the end of every summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert — portending a particularly extra-ordinary burn.
—
Denver Nicks,
Rolling Stone,
14 Sep. 2025
Andrew Webster,
The Verge,
1 July 2026
For West, who is a storm chaser, snow in the South would be a rare and sacred gift, one that the weekend storm was portending to produce throughout the region.
—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
Rams general manager Les Snead sent two first-round picks, two second-round picks and two third-round picks to the Tennessee Titans, portending a swing-for-the-fences mentality in trades that would lead to the Rams going seven years without making another first-round pick.
—
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2026
The bad omens came early at this year’s Burning Man — the infamously wild, weeklong celebration of art, music, and unrestrained self-expression held at the end of every summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert — portending a particularly extra-ordinary burn.
—
Denver Nicks,
Rolling Stone,
14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portending
Verb
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But predicting how things will change decades from now is a more daunting task than embracing a gauzy promise.
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That’s why Jim had been stepping up his calls for Meta to start a cloud business , predicting the struggling stock would soar in response.
Verb
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Trump campaigned on addressing those frustrations, promising disruption instead of the status quo.
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The forecasts are looking increasingly promising for aurora chasers.
Verb
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Yet the book is also about the disappearance of time and places, with summer’s end presaging more permanent losses.
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Andy Cohen was lost to the wormhole, presaging more losses to come.
Verb
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Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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Draft an application for a class, outline a travel budget, or research a path that has been calling to you.
Verb
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There was no obvious precipitating event, but the encroachment of Grok seemed foreboding.
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The windowless hallways are narrow in the federal building that houses this immigration court, and the agents’ stocky bodies are foreboding in the tight corridors.
Verb
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Also apparently boding well along the way was a 2021 FIFA site visit here that included group excursions to Arrowhead, Sporting KC’s Compass Minerals National Performance Center, Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence and several potential sites for a fan festival.
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This establishes that hyperscale AI infrastructure is now being built at utility scale, boding well for companies like Broadcom that offer both custom chips and rack-scale networking solutions.
Verb
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But the drama here feels too diagrammatic, foretelling a tragic fate from the first scene onward as everyone parties down like their lives depend on it.
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The Guardian similarly noted more than a dozen $100,000 bets on prediction markets foretelling the February air strikes on Iran, while The New York Times last month reported 150 bets of $1,000 or more predicting the start of the war.
Verb
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Millar, however, noted that a gauge of wholesale costs rose at the fastest pace in more than three years, auguring a further rise in consumer prices.
Cite this Entry
“Portending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portending. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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