portent
[pawr-tent, pohr-]
- an indication or omen of something about to happen, especially something momentous.
- threatening or disquieting significance: an occurrence of dire portent.
- a prodigy or marvel.
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Origin of portent
1555–65; < Latin portentum sign, token, noun use of neuter of portentus, past participle of portendere to portend
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
premonition, harbinger, omen, hunch, prognostic, foreboding, augury, sign, warning, prognostication, threat, caution, clue, presage, presentiment, foretoken, foreshadowing, vibes, phenomenonExamples from the Web for portent
Contemporary Examples
At times, it seemed Leonard was awaiting a portent or an omen.
Is this a passing phase or a portent of something more serious?
As the great commentator, the Ramban, teaches, “everything that happened to the Patriarchs is a portent for the children.”
Online activity is not therefore a portent of offline activity.
Lapid is the first politician to emerge from this politics and is in any case a portent of things to come.
Historical Examples
It was the hush of portent, the hush of watchfulness, the hush of a threatening tension.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
They had him, but it was like getting hold of an apparition, a wraith, a portent.
Lord JimJoseph Conrad
The silence without was only portent of the storm so soon to burst.
Warrior GapCharles King
It was because he was a failure in literature that he became a portent in English history.
The Napoleon of Notting HillGilbert K. Chesterton
And, try as I might, I felt it to be a portent and a prophecy.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London PrisonAustin Biron Bidwell
portent
- a sign or indication of a future event, esp a momentous or calamitous one; omen
- momentous or ominous significancea cry of dire portent
- a miraculous occurrence; marvel
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin portentum sign, omen, from portendere to portend
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for portent
n.
1560s, from Middle French portente, from Latin portentum "a sign, token, omen; monster, monstrosity," noun use of neuter of portentus, past participle of portendre (see portend).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper