1
as in omens
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in miracles
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 portents
As portents go, after a testing summer for Newcastle, this did not look altogether positive.
—
The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Other auspicious portents are appearing, Worden says, that signal initial Mars colonies could begin spreading out, beneath crystalline hemispheric domes, across the 2030s.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Advertisement Mamdani’s performance as mayor would be scrutinized for portents of the Democrats’ future.
—Mark Chiusano, Time, 14 Aug. 2025
The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Other auspicious portents are appearing, Worden says, that signal initial Mars colonies could begin spreading out, beneath crystalline hemispheric domes, across the 2030s.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Advertisement Mamdani’s performance as mayor would be scrutinized for portents of the Democrats’ future.
—Mark Chiusano, Time, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portents
Noun
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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
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In the final novel of the series, The Last Battle, the destruction of trees and dryads in Lantern Waste, a place tied to the creation of Narnia itself, is one of many portentous omens signalling the end of the world.—
Ellen Walker,
JSTOR Daily,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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GLP-1s work 'miracles' in treating PCOS.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Small miracles of kindness and kinship are thin on the ground.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Powell himself has previously weighed in on the AI jobs debate, which saw predictions of a 50% wipeout of white-collar jobs and a fourth industrial revolution creating a bounty of new positions, by staking out a middle position.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
17 Sep. 2025
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While crypto trading has a steep learning curve, anyone with a wallet can start trading predictions without any esoteric expertise.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The director’s fourth feature is told through the story of an early 20th-century sultan curious about the wonders of the burgeoning cinematograph, eventually being introduced to the ins and outs of the new technology by a former operator for the Lumiére Brothers.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
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Nonetheless, the Celtics adding Siakam would do wonders for their chances this season and certainly in the future.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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These mechanical marvels have continuously demonstrated their financial resilience when conventional portfolios falter and inflation threatens.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Despite all the marvels, Agentic AI is still in nappies.—
Kjartan Rist,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Today’s ReHeardle hints and answers for Friday, September 19 are coming right up.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
The Smart Stack, which offers a customizable list of widgets and updates them automatically based on your current activity and location, now shows hints on the watch face to highlight particularly timely suggestions, like enabling Do Not Disturb when a meeting on your calendar is about to start.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Pic heralds from Deadpool and John Wick director David Leitch and Bullet Train producer Kelly McCormick’s 87North, and Bill Bindley and Mike Karz’s Gulfstream Pictures (Upgraded), which financed the movie.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
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Thy Kingdom Come’s entrance heralds 10 total appearances for the album’s tracks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.—
Trevor Anderson,
Billboard,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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From suggestions that this means Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are willing to come back as working royals to the possibility of Harry moving his kids back to the UK, everything seems to be on the table these days.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
19 Sep. 2025
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The legislation also stipulates that a 13-member task force would be created to implement policy suggestions to increase safety on the country’s public transportation systems.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portents. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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