portend
Americanverb (used with object)
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portends,
present (3rd person singular)
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portended,
past participle, past
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portending
present participle
verb
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to give warning of; predict or foreshadow
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obsolete to indicate or signify; mean
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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portendsimple
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portendssimple
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have portendedperfect
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has portendedperfect
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am portendingprogressive
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are portendingprogressive
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is portendingprogressive
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have been portendingperfect progressive
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has been portendingperfect progressive
Past
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portendedsimple
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had portendedperfect
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was portendingprogressive
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were portendingprogressive
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had been portendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of portend
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin portendere “to point out, indicate, portend,” variant of prōtendere “to extend”; see pro- 1, tend 1
Explanation
Portend means to show a sign that something calamitous is about to happen. The teetering, tottering, pile of fine china piled up after the dinner party portends an imminent crash of broken plates and dishes. Portend is a verb warning of omens, or bad signs. Dark clouds rumbling in over a county fair in Kansas portend the thunderstorm and even tornado that is likely to ruin the festivities. Portend is a helpful way for authors to foreshadow dark events ahead in their stories.
Vocabulary lists containing portend
Grade 11, List 2
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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Chains
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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.
See Examples For:
So we get to witness the arguments, which unfortunately for the responsible parties—the “org” that attracts bile online and off—seem to portend the struggles to come.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Put it all together, and the march of trillicorn IPOs doesn’t portend doom for investors.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Signs pointed to another U.S. military buildup in the region this week that could portend a fresh round of fighting.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2026
So what does this portend for the future of American politics?
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2026
“Tell me what event might portend success in love?”
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
In the northern U.S., it portends unusually dry and warm weather, while the Gulf and Southeast states experience abnormally wet weather.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Conditions like dissociative identity disorder may dictate multiple support animals, and the growth in pet psychologists portends a burgeoning trend of emotionally affected pets needing their own support animals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
That’s what the defection of his largest influencers portends.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
A federal holiday often portends a long weekend for travel—or maybe just an extra day off to relax.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
Some of them are sure that if their cardiac uneasiness does not signify an actual heart lesion, valvular or muscular, at least it portends a premature wearing out of the heart.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
The public debut of SpaceX—officially Space Exploration Technologies — portended different things to different investors but was significant for all.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
The staginess that sinks many of his other pictures portended a digital age where all images would trend toward idealized, Photoshopped perfection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
When either, or both, of these signals have triggered five times or more combined within the span of five trading sessions, it has often portended trouble ahead, the SentimenTrader report said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2025
Based on how my day started, I reasoned it likely portended a really bad day ahead.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2024
Unlike Perry, he was not convinced that a broken mirror meant seven years’ misfortune, or that a young moon if glimpsed through glass portended evil.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Before they knew it, the sky turned dark, portending a storm.
From BBC ● May 29, 2025
Previous research has found that gelatinous zooplankton like velella and their fellow jellyfish thrive in warmer waters, portending an era some scientists have referred to as the “rise of slime.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
Cougars are our canaries in the coal mine, portending consequences of lost connectivity for all Southwest Washington.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
The dollar was heavy in Asia, and equities around most of the region declined, portending weakness when Europe wakes up as well.
From Reuters ● May 22, 2023
It was an evil omen, portending the worst fatigue.
From The Tale of a Trooper by Mackenzie, Clutha N. (Clutha Nantes)
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.
