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View synonyms for portend

portend

[ pawr-tend, pohr- ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to indicate in advance; to foreshadow or presage, as an omen does:

    The street incident may portend a general uprising.

    Synonyms: forebode, betoken, augur, forecast, foretell

  2. to signify; mean.


portend

/ pɔːˈtɛnd /

verb

  1. to give warning of; predict or foreshadow
  2. obsolete.
    to indicate or signify; mean
“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


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Other Words From

  • unpor·tended adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of portend1

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin portendere “to point out, indicate, portend,” variant of prōtendere “to extend”; pro- 1, tend 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of portend1

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

More than mRNA vaccines themselves, these lipid nanoparticles may portend big changes in pharmaceutical development.

From Quartz

Skeptics argue the cryptocurrency’s famed volatility portends a repeat of what happened three years ago, when a bubble burst spectacularly.

From Fortune

Including one Wall Street indicator that could portend bad things to come for growth investors.

From Fortune

In June, Disney announced that it was combining its own and Hulu’s ad tech teams into one organization, which likely portends a consolidation of the ad technology the two teams use.

From Digiday

How value’s steep descent and growth’s ongoing explosion portend a stunning reversal of fortunes is the subject of an excellent new article, “Value in Recessions and Recoveries,” by Kalesnik and coauthor Ari Polychronopoulos.

From Fortune

These numbers portend to illuminate society-threatening failures within the current immigration enforcement system.

Could the retirement of Rep. Tom Latham, a close friend, portend the exit of Speaker John Boehner as well?

Dissonant music that might otherwise be found in a Kubrick film portend to the worst.

But a small, important minority of these social-media clues portend real pain, struggle, even malice and disaster.

A look at the most bizarre metrics used to portend the winner of the presidential election.

A lofty birth or a large fortune portend merit, and cause it to be the sooner noticed.

He had acted as Ruth had bidden him; but he had no wish to be further involved in this affair, whatever it might portend.

She went on, wondering what this could portend, for since their chance meeting, she had not laid eyes on her neighbor.

If clouds breed high in the air, with white trains like locks of wool, they portend wind, probably rain.

What this obscure threat might portend, I could not see, but it chimed in with the delirious cruelty of the dead sergeant.

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