augur well for

Idioms  

1. Also, augur ill for;. Have good (or bad) expectations for someone or something. For example, John's recovery from surgery augurs well for the team and The Republican victory in the Congressional elections bodes ill for affirmative action. The verb augur is derived from the Latin word for “soothsayer” (predictor of the future), a meaning perpetuated in this phrase and so used since the late 1700s. The verb bode comes from the Old English bodian, meaning “to announce or foretell,” and is rarely heard today except in this idiom, which dates from about 1700.

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Example Sentences

That doesn’t augur well for a man who has spent a lifetime failing to own up to misconduct.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2024

This was anomalous, and in ways that seemed to augur well for others of her sex.

From Salon • Sep. 19, 2022

To have got so far in a climb which was merely a kind of preliminary reconnaissance is a very fine achievement and seems to augur well for the final effort.’

From Scientific American • Aug. 1, 2022

Sitting on the bench does not augur well for a player’s form.

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2022

Between the weather and the Montenegrins’ defeat, it didn’t augur well for our own summit assault, scheduled to get under way in less than six hours.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer