PORTEND Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

portend

verb

Definition of portend

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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of portend The AfD expanded on strong recent results, which analysts believe could portend far-right victories in upcoming European elections. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 20 Sep. 2026 The emergence of Tolle behind them, though, is what portends best for Boston moving forward. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 The Dallas Cowboys’ lack of faith in starting right tackle Terence Steele portends a potentially big game Sunday night for Giants top pass rusher Brian Burns. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026 But 160 Leroy portends a future that stretches the definition of what constitutes New York living into hitherto-unknown territory. — Bridget Read, Curbed, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for portend

Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend

Verb

Sullivan has evolved into the stardom predicted for him since his days kicking the ball around with his brothers inside and outside of his northeast Philadelphia home.

— CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
The playoff projections are based on a Monte Carlo simulation, a computation of random sampling used to predict outcomes, of the 2026 season.

— Loren Maxwell, AJC.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of predict

Verb

For a six-month trial, the company promises that participants will not lose pay or jobs because of the trial.

— Christoph Trattner, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
While no service can promise to remove all your data from the internet, a data removal service can monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of promise

Verb

This does not bode particularly well for Feyenoord, who finished a hefty 19 points behind 2025-26 Eredivisie champions PSV.

— Nick Miller, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
This did not bode well with the Love Island USA fanbase and Miller and Pessoa took to social media to defend their stance.

— Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 28 June 2026

Definition of bode

Verb

Inclusion on the list could also presage a Section 301 investigation that could lead to legal consequences or restrictive import controls on the devices.

— Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 13 Oct. 2026
Charlie Kirk's family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist's assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.

— CBS News, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of presage

Verb

Lowen must move into the Crawford family’s foreboding Vermont lake house to flirt with her husband sift through Verity’s notes and embody her voice.

— Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 6 Oct. 2026
Lowen heads up to the Crawford home in Vermont, which is a stunning, if not foreboding, contemporary house by Danish sculptor and designer Jens Quistgaard that’s pretty much hidden in woods.

— Fawnia Soo Hoo, Allure, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of forebode

Verb

Although the post-pandemic decline of China was one of the main causes of Lauder’s slowdown in growth in 2023, today the broad demographic scope augurs continued growth.

— Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
The Houthis also made important gains inland, all but besieging the strategic city of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, in a move that augured more Houthi advances.

— Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026