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.

They look at the window and door, portentously, but when the door finally opens, it’s oddly inconsequential: The dancers go in and they come out.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2024

The bell in the Marquis of Granby, once a favourite spot for Conservatives, portentously stopped ringing just before the pandemic shut pubs across the country - and hasn't started back up since.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2024

There’s the portentously over-the-top narration, and then there’s the rapid-fire dialogue that makes “Gilmore Girls” look graceful.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2024

Nonetheless, Officer Schmuck considered my 12-year-old car and declared portentously that I had a “history of collisions.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 9, 2020

I stepped portentously on to the path, a fragment of the original Appalachian Trail from the days when it passed here en route from Mount Oglethorpe to Springer.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson