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
Does a return to the sound and the collaborators of 1989 also portend a return to the blockbuster status of 1989?
—
Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 21 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
And the future portends even more dealmaking.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
If the July unemployment report portends what’s to come, the picture is bound to get gloomier.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 21 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
And the future portends even more dealmaking.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
If the July unemployment report portends what’s to come, the picture is bound to get gloomier.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend
Verb
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Before all that happened, though, there was the eight-course dinner, which went totally fine as predicted.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Sep. 2025
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Explore Fall, a website that provides resources and tools to track the changing colors of leaves, is predicting an earlier and quicker fall foliage peak for the millions of people looking to see this year's natural spectacle.—
Kyle Reiman,
ABC News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There were even marketing wars that sometimes backfired, as in 1994, when Owners Abroad promised a marketing blitz after rebranding to First Choice.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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The projects received millions in state and local tax incentives after promising to create thousands of new jobs.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That may bode poorly for others in the conference, considering Joe Burrow and company still finished 9-8 or better in each of those previous years.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
13 Sep. 2025
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Taken together, this doesn’t bode well for the nation’s birth rate.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Players need to keep a careful eye on the sometimes small animation cues that presage an attack, move quickly and precisely to avoid that specific attack, and then dart back in during a quick counterattack window to do some damage before starting the cycle over again.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
11 Sep. 2025
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Deteriorations in consumer perceptions of the labor market tend to presage slowdowns in consumption as individuals hold off on marginal purchases given less confidence in their ability to find work if needed.—
Jeffrey Schulze,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Was this what some people called analytic contentment?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Sep. 2025
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Laura Ashley has also worked with fragrance specialists Freckleface on a handmade candle called Vintage 100 that combines two of Laura’s favorite scents, English rose and wild blackberries.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, economists caution, the better-than-expected reading could be a sign of a slowing economy and that shrinking businesses’ margins could foretell higher prices for consumers in the near future.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
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Every day there are LinkedIn posts, as well as Forbes, NYT, and WSJ articles about the massive capital reallocation by customers and investors to AI from SaaS, foretelling the end of SaaS.—
Barry Libert,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite the seemingly sweet resolution to their storyline (and an ostensibly upbeat last line of dialogue), there’s a strange undercurrent to the Nagisa and Natsuo segment that suggests foreboding as much as potential happiness — a mysterious tension befitting the creator that Miyake is adapting.—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
17 Aug. 2025
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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
Verb
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Husseini attempted to ply him with patronage, appointing him imam of a new mosque, but the cleric’s burgeoning following augured poorly for Husseini’s grip on power.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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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.—
Paul Davidson,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portend. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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