foreboding
Americannoun
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a prediction; portent.
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a strong inner feeling or notion of a future misfortune, evil, etc.; presentiment.
adjective
noun
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a feeling of impending evil, disaster, etc
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an omen or portent
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of foreboding
1350–1400; Middle English forbodyng (noun); see forebode, -ing 1, -ing 2
Explanation
When you get a foreboding, you get a sense that something bad is going to happen. A foreboding is a foretelling, a sign or a glimpse, that "something wicked this way comes" — or might come. If something doesn’t "bode" well, it means that the future doesn't look good. A foreboding is a glimpse or a feeling that bad things are going to happen. It's a premonition, or look into the future. Most times foreboding implies that something evil is coming, but sometimes it's used for anything bad up ahead, as in "she had a foreboding that the trip would get canceled due to the hurricane." Even if the future looks bright, a foreboding casts dread over what's ahead.
Vocabulary lists containing foreboding
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2
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Power Prefix: fore-
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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.
Foreboding permeates “Lost Boy Lost Girl,” with each shape-shifting character adrift and uncertain.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
It’s called Interesting Times, rather than Foreboding Times, Quixotic Times, or Bleak Times—which is an indication of where he stands.
From Slate • Oct. 7, 2025
A Foreboding Fire: A wildfire that quickly consumed more than 14,000 acres northwest of Los Angeles signaled the start of what experts warn could be a dangerous and prolonged fire season in the West.
From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2024
Foreboding odds and unprecedented feats are nothing daunting for Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, whose 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers remain the only NBA champion to rally from a 3-1 Finals deficit.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2021
Foreboding had entered even the hearts of the forestaller and extortioner.
From Mohun, or, the Last Days of Lee by Cooke, John Esten
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.
