presage

[ noun pres-ij; verb pres-ij, pri-seyj ]
See synonyms for presage on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a presentiment or foreboding.

  2. something that portends or foreshadows a future event; an omen, prognostic, or warning indication.

  1. prophetic significance; augury.

  2. foresight; prescience.

  3. Archaic. a forecast or prediction.

verb (used with object),pres·aged, pres·ag·ing.
  1. to have a presentiment of.

  2. to portend, foreshow, or foreshadow: The incidents may presage war.

  1. to forecast; predict.

verb (used without object),pres·aged, pres·ag·ing.
  1. to make a prediction.

  2. Archaic. to have a presentiment.

Origin of presage

1
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

Other words for presage

Other words from presage

  • pres·age·ful, adjective
  • pres·age·ful·ly, adverb
  • pres·ag·er, noun
  • un·pres·aged, adjective
  • un·pres·ag·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use presage in a sentence

  • He was moving now toward sound, heavy, increasing, presaging a realm of jarred air and ringing ear-drums.

    The Long Roll | Mary Johnston
  • Thick clouds closed in with a driving rain and a high raw wind, presaging the end of summer.

British Dictionary definitions for presage

presage

noun(ˈprɛsɪdʒ)
  1. an intimation or warning of something about to happen; portent; omen

  2. a sense of what is about to happen; foreboding

  1. archaic a forecast or prediction

verb(ˈprɛsɪdʒ, prɪˈseɪdʒ)
  1. (tr) to have a presentiment of

  2. (tr) to give a forewarning of; portend

  1. (intr) to make a prediction

Origin of presage

1
C14: from Latin praesāgium presentiment, from praesāgīre to perceive beforehand, from sāgīre to perceive acutely

Derived forms of presage

  • presageful, adjective
  • presagefully, adverb
  • presager, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012