portentous
Americanadjective
-
of the nature of a portent; momentous.
-
ominously significant or indicative.
a portentous defeat.
- Synonyms:
- threatening, inauspicious, unpropitious
-
marvelous; amazing; prodigious.
adjective
-
of momentous or ominous significance
-
miraculous, amazing, or awe-inspiring; prodigious
-
self-important or pompous
Related Words
See ominous.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of portentous
From the Latin word portentōsus, dating back to 1530–40. See portent, -ous
Explanation
The black crows slowly circling the front entrance to your office building at 6:00 a.m. may have a portentous quality, meaning it seems like they’re an omen indicating something bad will happen. Use the adjective portentous to describe something that seems to be a sign related to a future event — generally an ominous sign. Something that is portentous often seems to hint at or warn of a future disaster. For example, in a movie ominous music playing in the background while someone turns a dark corner can have a portentous quality, predicting doom for the hapless character.
Vocabulary lists containing portentous
Romeo and Juliet
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The Great Gatsby
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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.
Portentous, woozy background music was playing, as if an alien encounter was imminent.
From New York Times • Jul. 2, 2023
Portentous, considering that the current concentration of CO2, now more than 400 parts per million, is reaching a level not seen for perhaps three million years, since the Pliocene epoch.
From Scientific American • Jul. 20, 2017
Portentous polysyllables were a must: Fairport Convention was born.
From The Guardian • Apr. 10, 2010
Portentous as it looks on paper, the U.N.R. is, in fact, an inchoate alliance of a dozen political groups, still has not even formulated a party program.
From Time Magazine Archive
Portentous sound! mysteriously vast And awful in the grandeur of refrain That lifts the listener's hair, as it swells past, And pours in turbid currents down the lane.
From Nye and Riley's Wit and Humor (Poems and Yarns) by Nye, Bill
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.
