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.
She plans to sweep away the cobwebs and inject warmth and life into a farm mired in portentous dialogue and unmentionable secrets.
Were the dialogue a bit less ornate and portentous, the story might be easier to swallow.
Like the album, the trailer's atmosphere is brooding and portentous.
From BBC
It is, exactly as Adebimpe suggested, akin to a mixtape that acts as a time capsule for a portentous period for an individual as much as the collective.
From Los Angeles Times
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
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.
