portend

[ pawr-tend, pohr- ]
/ pɔrˈtɛnd, poʊr- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR portend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to indicate in advance; to foreshadow or presage, as an omen does: The street incident may portend a general uprising.
to signify; mean.

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Origin of portend

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin portendere to point out, indicate, portend, variant of prōtendere to extend. See pro-1, tend1

OTHER WORDS FROM portend

un·por·tend·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH portend

portend pretend (see synonym study at pretend)

Words nearby portend

portative, portative organ, portcullis, porte, porte-cochere, portend, portent, portentous, porter, porter chair, porter's sign
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to portend

predict, augur, foretell, presage, bespeak, harbinger, omen, hint, read, prophesy, betoken, adumbrate, forecast, herald, forebode, call, promise, prognosticate, threaten, forewarn

Example sentences from the Web for portend

British Dictionary definitions for portend

portend
/ (pɔːˈtɛnd) /

verb (tr)

to give warning of; predict or foreshadow
obsolete to indicate or signify; mean

Word Origin for portend

C15: from Latin portendere to indicate, foretell; related to prōtendere to stretch out
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