portentous
Americanadjective
-
of the nature of a portent; momentous.
-
ominously significant or indicative.
a portentous defeat.
- Synonyms:
- threatening, inauspicious, unpropitious
-
marvelous; amazing; prodigious.
adjective
-
of momentous or ominous significance
-
miraculous, amazing, or awe-inspiring; prodigious
-
self-important or pompous
Related Words
See ominous.
Other Word Forms
- nonportentous adjective
- nonportentously adverb
- nonportentousness noun
- portentously adverb
- portentousness noun
- unportentous adjective
- unportentously adverb
- unportentousness noun
Etymology
Origin of portentous
From the Latin word portentōsus, dating back to 1530–40. See portent, -ous
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.
Were the dialogue a bit less ornate and portentous, the story might be easier to swallow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Like the album, the trailer's atmosphere is brooding and portentous.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2025
Unable to persuade a majority of the commission to endorse their deficit-cutting recommendations, Simpson and Bowles took it upon themselves to issue a list under the portentous title “The Moment of Truth.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2025
That’s when her portentous warpaint emerges, a crisp black border drawn from tear duct to wing crowning a frigid, distrustful gaze.
From Salon • Oct. 27, 2024
Before me stretched the portentous menacing road of a new decade.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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.
