1
as in forerunner
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
a red sky in the morning can be a portent of a coming storm
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2
as in miracle
something extraordinary or surprising
a scout was sent to have a look at this teenage pitcher who was supposed to be the latest portent of the baseball world
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of portent
And the portents were not just in Henderson’s and Nuzzo’s paper.
—
David Zweig, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025
Matthew stresses royalty, prefacing the birth with heavenly portents; afterward, Magi bear royal gifts to a future king.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025
But the attacks could have been interpreted very differently: as a horrific case of blowback and a portent of resistance to U.S. hegemony.
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 17 Mar. 2023
Weinstein’s thuggish joke was just one portent of the edgy, borderline sinister air that permeated the party from the very beginning.
—Scott Huver, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portent
David Zweig, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025
Matthew stresses royalty, prefacing the birth with heavenly portents; afterward, Magi bear royal gifts to a future king.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025
But the attacks could have been interpreted very differently: as a horrific case of blowback and a portent of resistance to U.S. hegemony.
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 17 Mar. 2023
Weinstein’s thuggish joke was just one portent of the edgy, borderline sinister air that permeated the party from the very beginning.
—Scott Huver, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portent
Noun
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The forerunner of today’s sleek MacBook laptops was the PowerBook.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
11 June 2025
-
Frederick Ashton’s for the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (the forerunner of the Royal Ballet) in 1952, with a resplendent Margot Fonteyn in the title role, put the ballet back into the mainstream repertory, though it wasn’t performed by the Royal from the mid-1960s to 2004.—
Roslyn Sulcas,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
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The Panthers had their own miracle on ice on Sam Reinhart’s sharp-angle goal from the left that found its way inside the net with 19.5 seconds left in regulation as a crowd ready to file out dejected erupted with sonic joy.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
13 June 2025
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This biological truth has become my personal miracle.—
Stixx Mathews,
Essence,
13 June 2025
Noun
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The films are filled with little omens like this, both blatant and subtle — though usually blatant.—
Kellina Moore,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
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Such spectral doppelgängers stalk the living as grim omens of impending death.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 May 2025
Noun
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This phenomenon can help explain why initiatives such as Starbucks’ #RaceTogether campaign backfired.—
Lauren Howe,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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The two collaborators shaped the look of a cultural phenomenon in Season 1 and found a way to exceed the seemingly insurmountable expectations that awaited Season 2, an achievement that earned them the Auteur Award at the 2025 TV IndieWire Honors.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 June 2025
Noun
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By World Health Organization (WHO) standards established in 1994, this designates a person as having osteopenia — often a precursor to osteoporosis.—
Jia H. Jung,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
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Leverton said trends like western, cottagecore, Americana and conservative styles of dress, in general, were precursors to where things were the U.S. presidential election was heading last year.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Korea's Jeju Island, a lush tropical destination full of natural wonders, is bringing back its World Heritage Festival this July.—
Rachel Chang,
Travel + Leisure,
5 June 2025
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That is, putting the current environmental crisis in the long context of Earth history can do wonders for one’s mood.—
Tim Weed
June 4,
Literary Hub,
4 June 2025
Noun
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There was no foreshadowing of Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury on May 3 or Bregman’s severe quad injury on May 23, one that will keep him out for several weeks.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
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The document, seen by Newsweek, suggested Meghan had been left unprotected while pregnant in a foreshadowing of her argument to Oprah Winfrey less than a year later.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
Noun
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Open daily from 5 a.m. to midnight with free admission, the two-acre park invites visitors to wander among these kinetic marvels.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
24 May 2025
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This gem detailing the ancient underground aqueducts of Rome gives both a visual and historical account of man’s insatiable appetite to overcome nature and create astonishing engineering marvels to uplift the human condition.—
Smithsonian magazine,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portent. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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