presage
Americannoun
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a presentiment or foreboding.
- Synonyms:
- premonition, indication
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something that portends or foreshadows a future event; an omen, prognostic, or warning indication.
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prophetic significance; augury.
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foresight; prescience.
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Archaic. a forecast or prediction.
verb (used with object)
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to have a presentiment of.
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to portend, foreshow, or foreshadow.
The incidents may presage war.
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to forecast; predict.
verb (used without object)
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to make a prediction.
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Archaic. to have a presentiment.
noun
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an intimation or warning of something about to happen; portent; omen
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a sense of what is about to happen; foreboding
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archaic a forecast or prediction
verb
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(tr) to have a presentiment of
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(tr) to give a forewarning of; portend
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(intr) to make a prediction
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have presagedperfect
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has presagedperfect 3rd person singular
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are presagingprogressive
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is presagingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been presagingperfect progressive
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presagingparticiple
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has been presagingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am presagingprogressive 1st person singular
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presagessingular 3rd person
Past
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had presagedperfect
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had been presagingperfect progressive
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were presagingprogressive plural
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presagedsimple
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was presagingprogressive singular
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presagedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of presage
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Middle French presage < Latin praesāgium presentiment, forewarning, equivalent to praesāg ( us ) having a foreboding ( prae- pre- + sāgus prophetic; cf. sagacious) + -ium -ium
Explanation
A presage is a sign that something bad is about to happen, like when you get that queasy feeling in your stomach because your mom found out you skipped band practice to go to the movies. Presage, pronounced "PREH-sige," can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, presage is a warning or omen of bad things to come, like a strange quiet and stillness in the air, presage to the coming tornado. As a verb, presage means "to make a prediction or give a warning of what's to come." A terrible end-of-season football game might presage the struggles that the team will face next season.
Vocabulary lists containing presage
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Romeo and Juliet
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Presage dim— Dim inklings from the shadowy sphere Fixed him and fascinated here.
From Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War by Melville, Herman
I felt my heart as turn'd to snow, Presage, perhaps, that happiness decays!
From The Sonnets, Triumphs, and Other Poems of Petrarch by Campbell, Thomas
So Romulus, 'tis sung, by Tiber's brook, Presage of sway from twice six vultures took.
From English Satires by Smeaton, William Henry Oliphant
What hateful wretch is this whose mighty thews Presage destruction to his adversaries?
From The Admirable Bashville or, Constancy Unrewarded by Shaw, Bernard
The more skilful Sailors took Courage at this happy Presage of Deliverance.
From Military Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton by Defoe, Daniel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
