betoken

[bih-toh-kuhn]

verb (used with object)

1. to give evidence of; indicate.

   to betoken one's fidelity with a vow; a kiss that betokens one's affection.

2. to be or give a token or sign of; portend.

   a thunderclap that betokens foul weather; an angry word that betokens hostility.

betoken

/ bɪˈtəʊkən /

verb

1. to indicate; signify

   black clothes betoken mourning

2. to portend; augur

Word History and Origins

Origin of betoken¹

First recorded in 1125–75, betoken is from the Middle English word bitocnen, bitacnen. See be-, token

Example Sentences

The Wiseman reference betokens a certain seriousness on the part of the creators, an awareness that people might be watching who know a thing or two about the subject.

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Red Friday betokens an upcoming home game for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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The statistics betokened a return to artistic health for the 41 theaters of Broadway, forced to shut down for 15 months starting in March 2020 because of the pandemic.

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This “Cyrano” centers the freedom that new forms of drama betoken, and all the ways that the writing of the past can feed them — from Rostand to Emily Dickinson.

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Set designer Donald Eastman places the action in an airy courtyard of broken concrete slabs — the cracks in the cement betokening the fissures that will symbolically swallow up Floyd.

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