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
Layoffs don’t always portend future problems: Companies who enact them as part of a broader change in strategy, Cascio says, fare better than those who enact them simply to cut costs.
—
Mark Dent, thehustle.co, 7 Mar. 2025
While Reid was considered the most left-leaning of MSNBC’s hosts, her departure does not portend a change in direction at the network, which has a tribal following among political progressives.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2025
As Miami faces a crucial offseason portending big change, the Dolphins in the conference are looking up at the pedigreed Chiefs, the nemesis Bills, the mighty Ravens and four other teams that made the playoffs in the Steelers, Texans, Chargers and Broncos.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025
An analyst is of the view that Tesla’s stock slump portends a future in which the multinational corporation has to work in a nationalist world.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Mark Dent, thehustle.co, 7 Mar. 2025
While Reid was considered the most left-leaning of MSNBC’s hosts, her departure does not portend a change in direction at the network, which has a tribal following among political progressives.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2025
As Miami faces a crucial offseason portending big change, the Dolphins in the conference are looking up at the pedigreed Chiefs, the nemesis Bills, the mighty Ravens and four other teams that made the playoffs in the Steelers, Texans, Chargers and Broncos.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025
An analyst is of the view that Tesla’s stock slump portends a future in which the multinational corporation has to work in a nationalist world.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend
Verb
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The ratio also could be used to predict eventual memory loss in people who have a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2025
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Edwards and other experts predict the government will rely on an existing bank partner rather than build a new system from scratch.—
Dan Avery,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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This was the beginning of the end for the Suns promising future.—
Mikai Bruce,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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In short, Doom: The Dark Ages promises to be the best entry in the series yet.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This belief justified, in their eyes, the use of indiscriminate violence against the Muslim minority—presaging, in Wagner’s view, the abuses of the post-9/11 era.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
7 Jan. 2025
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Quarterback’s global success presaged Christmas Day NFL action.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Anyone who would like to get connected to treatment, or knows someone who does, can call 1-800-563-4086 or visit connectgnh.org at any day or time.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
14 Feb. 2023
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Breakouts might call for the Salicylic + Green Tea Exfoliating Cleanser and Aloe + Algae Lightweight Gel Cream, whereas dry skin might crave a boost of moisture from the Hyaluronic + Arnica Hydrating Serum.—
Lisa DeSantis,
Allure,
14 Feb. 2023
Verb
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Consider Isaiah 42, for example, in which God proclaims his promise of salvation and foretells the coming of the Messiah.—
Rev. Dr. Serene Jones,
TIME,
17 Mar. 2025
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The Sibyl appears in the epigraph of The Wasteland, unable to foretell her own death.—
Vipin Bharathan,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Despite the difficulty, in some cases the stakes are so high—as with North Korea and its nuclear weapons—that armies will have no choice but to take the fight to what is often a vast, foreboding underworld.—
Kyle Mizokami,
Popular Mechanics,
27 June 2023
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There are foreboding close-ups on clock faces and their fast-changing digits.—
Erica Gonzales,
ELLE,
23 June 2023
Verb
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The potential return of American Dad! to Fox also augurs well for 20th TV Animation’s other long-running Fox shows — Bob’s Burgers, MacFarlane’s Family Guy and The Simpsons — which are coming to the end of two-season orders at the network.—
Rick Porter,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Mar. 2025
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Isaac Chotiner spoke with a legal scholar about what the case could augur for the rest of Trump’s term » European wine imports could face a two-hundred-per-cent tariff, based on the President’s most recent trade threat.—
Naomi Fry,
The New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portend. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
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