foreboding

[fawr-boh-ding, fohr-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foreboding ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a prediction; portent.

a strong inner feeling or notion of a future misfortune, evil, etc.; presentiment.

adjective

that forebodes, especially evil.

Nearby words

Origin of foreboding

1350–1400; Middle English forbodyng (noun); see forebode, -ing¹, -ing²

Related formsfore·bod·ing·ly, adverbfore·bod·ing·ness, nounun·fore·bod·ing, adjective

Can be confusedforbidding foreboding

forebode

[fawr-bohd, fohr-]

verb (used with object), fore·bod·ed, fore·bod·ing.

to foretell or predict; be an omen of; indicate beforehand; portend: clouds that forebode a storm.

to have a strong inner feeling or notion of (a future misfortune, evil, catastrophe, etc.); have a presentiment of.

verb (used without object), fore·bod·ed, fore·bod·ing.

to prophesy.

to have a presentiment.

Origin of forebode

First recorded in 1595–1605; fore- + bode¹

SYNONYMS FOR forebode

1. foreshadow, presage, forecast, augur.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forebode ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsfore·bod·er, nounun·fore·bod·ed, adjective

Can be confusedforbade forbid forbidden forebode

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foreboding

The sense of foreboding mounted by the day as IS fighters surrounded the Sinjar district on three sides.
How the U.S.-favored Kurds Abandoned the Yazidis when ISIS Attacked|Christine van den Toorn|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was one foreboding clue as to what was to come for the house members.
No One Told ‘Big Brother Israel’ About the War|Nina Strochlic|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Plus the moors where she lives—all cascading waterfalls and glowing fairies and foreboding thorns—are rather lovely to look at it.
The Ghastly ‘Maleficent’ and Why It’s Time For Hollywood to Kill the Dark Reboot|Andrew Romano|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And their deaths have heightened the tensions and the sense of foreboding that something bigger and more brutal may happen soon.
Russia’s Partisans Imposing Their Rule in East Ukraine|Jamie Dettmer|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

On August 15, 1982, Mary appeared with a foreboding message.
Did the Virgin Mary Warn Rwanda’s Holiest Town of the Genocide?|Nina Strochlic|April 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Vera shivered with foreboding when he spoke of these precautions; she would have liked to have died before evening came.
The Precipice|Ivan Goncharov
St. George heard, and his eager hope went down in foreboding.
Romance Island|Zona Gale
Keep in mind the distinction between forethought and foreboding.
Sermons|Clement Bailhache
The grim, persistent figure of the money-lender began to affect him with a foreboding of disaster.
Max Fargus|Owen Johnson
A sense of unreality and foreboding seized on Hugh, as the still face of the water looked up at him.
Red Pottage|Mary Cholmondeley

British Dictionary definitions for foreboding

foreboding

noun

a feeling of impending evil, disaster, etc

an omen or portent

adjective

presaging something

Derived Formsforebodingly, adverbforebodingness, noun

forebode

verb

to warn of or indicate (an event, result, etc) in advance

to have an intuition or premonition of (an event)

Derived Formsforeboder, 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

Word Origin and History for foreboding

foreboding

late 14c., "a predilection, portent, omen," from fore- + verbal noun from bode. Meaning "sense of something bad about to happen" is from c.1600. Old English forebodung meant "prophecy."

forebode

"feel a secret premonition," c.1600, from fore- + bode. Related: Foreboded; foreboding. Old English forebodian meant "to announce, declare."

foreboding

noun

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of foreboding

forebode

verb (used with object), fore·bod·ed, fore·bod·ing.

verb (used without object), fore·bod·ed, fore·bod·ing.

Origin of forebode

Examples from the Web for foreboding

foreboding

noun

adjective

forebode

verb

foreboding

forebode