portentous

[pawr-ten-tuh s, pohr-]

adjective

of the nature of a portent; momentous.

ominously significant or indicative: a portentous defeat.

marvelous; amazing; prodigious.

Origin of portentous

From the Latin word portentōsus, dating back to 1530–40. See portent, -ous

Related formspor·ten·tous·ly, adverbpor·ten·tous·ness, nounnon·por·ten·tous, adjectivenon·por·ten·tous·ly, adverbnon·por·ten·tous·ness, nounun·por·ten·tous, adjectiveun·por·ten·tous·ly, adverbun·por·ten·tous·ness, noun

Can be confusedportentous pretentious

Synonyms for portentous

1, 2. See ominous. 2. unpropitious, inauspicious, threatening.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for portentously

Contemporary Examples of portentously

And then all this gets underlined and italicized by a portentously romantic score.
Is Lindsay Lohan a Work Of Art?
Blake Gopnik
June 13, 2012
Portentously, the opposition consisted of communists, liberals, fascists, and a well-off middle class.
Leslie H. Gelb on a World in Crisis—and What Obama Should Do
Leslie H. Gelb
December 14, 2011

Historical Examples of portentously

"There's a man you don't want to have much to do with," she said portentously.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922
Lucy Maud Montgomery
It was so portentously produced that her ladyship had somehow to meet it.
Some Short Stories
Henry James
No one could have been so portentously sagacious as he looked.
John Forster
Percy Hethrington Fitzgerald
This, sir, he said portentously, is the language of the Derby.
Lord Randolph Churchill
Winston Spencer Churchill
But the punch which succeeded was of excellent quality, and portentously strong.
The Surgeon's Daughter
Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for portentously

portentous

adjective

of momentous or ominous significance

miraculous, amazing, or awe-inspiring; prodigious

self-important or pompous

Derived Formsportentously, adverbportentousness, noun

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 portentously

portentous

adj.

1540s, from Latin portentosus "monstrous, marvelous, threatening," from portentem "portent" (see portend). Related: Portentously.