PORTENDING Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

portending

verb

present participle of portend

as in predicting

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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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 portending Campaigns have kicked off for elections that will be held in four months time and the subsidy debate has returned to the table, portending fresh uncertainty for businesses. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026 That’s when digital storefronts became prominent, portending an even bigger issue in the future. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 1 July 2026 For West, who is a storm chaser, snow in the South would be a rare and sacred gift, one that the weekend storm was portending to produce throughout the region. — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2026 Rams general manager Les Snead sent two first-round picks, two second-round picks and two third-round picks to the Tennessee Titans, portending a swing-for-the-fences mentality in trades that would lead to the Rams going seven years without making another first-round pick. — Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for portending

Verb

Media narrative predicting blue wave in key battleground state not meshing with local Republicans.

— , FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
The organization’s track record of predicting Oscar success has been mixed over the years.

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of predicting

Verb

Faith also means opening the doors to artists eager to make space for themselves within country music — not least her beloved Lana Del Rey, who’s been promising for years to release a country album.

— Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
In the cable, published by WikiLeaks, the embassy said recruiters in Israel were targeting young people finishing mandatory military service and promising large sums to be made working at American malls.

— Monika Evstatieva, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of promising

Verb

What needs help O'Connell hasn't had much success with trick plays over five seasons of calling the offense.

— CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
But whether calling him by first name, last name, both or by nickname, just make sure to put respect on the Lakers forward’s game that’s too varied to fit in a single position.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of calling

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 foreboding

Verb

Also apparently boding well along the way was a 2021 FIFA site visit here that included group excursions to Arrowhead, Sporting KC’s Compass Minerals National Performance Center, Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence and several potential sites for a fan festival.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 May 2026
This establishes that hyperscale AI infrastructure is now being built at utility scale, boding well for companies like Broadcom that offer both custom chips and rack-scale networking solutions.

— TipRanks.com Staff, CNBC, 19 Apr. 2026

Definition of boding

Verb

But the drama here feels too diagrammatic, foretelling a tragic fate from the first scene onward as everyone parties down like their lives depend on it.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
The Guardian similarly noted more than a dozen $100,000 bets on prediction markets foretelling the February air strikes on Iran, while The New York Times last month reported 150 bets of $1,000 or more predicting the start of the war.

— Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 21 Apr. 2026

Definition of foretelling

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portending

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“Portending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portending. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of portending

verb

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