1
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
an eerie and portentous stillness hung over the camp the night before the battle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in marvellous
causing wonder or astonishment
in 1969 people regarded the first landing on the moon as a truly portentous event
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of portentous
This game would have been twice as portentous if Davis had been healthy, but the 10-time All-Star who teamed up with James to lead the Lakers to the 2020 championship is out at least two more weeks with a groin injury sustained in his Mavs debut.
—
Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
This game would have been twice as portentous if Davis had been healthy, but the 10-time All-Star who teamed up with James to lead the Lakers to the 2020 championship is out at least two more weeks with a groin injury sustained in his Mavs debut.
—Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
After the game, Dončić warmly greeted his former teammates but also took a few portentous looks at the Mavericks bench during the night.
—Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
With its whisper-thin characters, vague narrative, and acres of portentous poetry about sound, Rabbit Trap feels somehow both underwritten and overwritten.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portentous
Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
This game would have been twice as portentous if Davis had been healthy, but the 10-time All-Star who teamed up with James to lead the Lakers to the 2020 championship is out at least two more weeks with a groin injury sustained in his Mavs debut.
—Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
After the game, Dončić warmly greeted his former teammates but also took a few portentous looks at the Mavericks bench during the night.
—Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
With its whisper-thin characters, vague narrative, and acres of portentous poetry about sound, Rabbit Trap feels somehow both underwritten and overwritten.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portentous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portentous
Adjective
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If the sky turns ominous and thunder can be heard, find a secure place for shelter.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Aug. 2025
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The cataclysmic effect of her unexpected arrival suggests that soon her vocabulary will expand to include more such ominous language.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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For The Fin, his team worked to make the dim light extra grainy, giving it a particularly sinister quality.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Aug. 2025
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This turns out to be another name for Galactus, a surprisingly scary Marvel villain played with sinister sincerity by Ralph Ineson.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 July 2025
Adjective
-
The outpouring from the community has been wonderful, and everyone has been willing to help, though there isn’t much anyone can do at the moment, according to Guzauskas.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Jalen Coker, a second-year receiver who’s had a wonderful camp, will play Thursday.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The menacing attacker — described as 6′ to 6’2″ and wearing a black t-shirt, blue pants and tan shoes — took off north on Madison Ave.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
7 Aug. 2025
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The previous version of the immersive attraction brought guests face to face with the terrifying flickering TV screen, the menacing beast from beyond, and the pool filled with floating corpses.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Its share price has spiked an astonishing 365% year to date, including a 150% surge in just over a month. MP’s market cap has risen from just over $2 billion to $13 billion, entering large-cap territory—not bad for a company that brought in just $204 million in revenue last year.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
12 Aug. 2025
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Kirkpatrick’s final estimate is an astonishing $3.4 billion.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But leaning into the miraculous, improbable achievement of an online actual play series selling out MSG, the cast and crew were determined to do it up.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
15 Aug. 2025
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And a couple of weeks later, those conversations paid off in Sporting’s somewhat miraculous win over the L.A. Galaxy.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But each was just a short hop from Tokyo, and the payoff was a deep dive into the many famous temples, shrines and amazing gastronomy of the area.—
Larry Olmsted,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Thornton, who graduated from the former Benjamin Franklin High School in East Harlem, was a neighborhood blacktop legend at Rucker Park in the 1980s who entertained thousands of fans at Harlem courts with his amazing moves.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That being said, a new update has shared a potential surprising outcome to the situation.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Aug. 2025
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When Janssen asked why, the man had a surprising answer.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
17 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portentous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portentous. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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