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definitions

portend

[ pawr-tend, pohr- ]
/ pɔrˈtɛnd, poʊr- /
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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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. portative,
  2. portative organ,
  3. portcullis,
  4. porte,
  5. porte-cochere,
  6. portent,
  7. portentous,
  8. porter,
  9. porter chair,
  10. porter's sign

Origin of portend

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin portendere to point out, indicate, portend, variant of prōtendere to extend. See pro-1, tend1
Related formsun·por·tend·ed, adjective
Can be confusedportend pretend (see synonym study at pretend)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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
Word Origin and History for portend

portend

v.

early 15c., from Latin portendere "foretell, reveal; point out, indicate," originally "to stretch forward," from por- (variant of pro-; see pro-) "forth, forward" + tendere "to stretch, extend" (see tenet). Related: Portended; portending.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper