premonition

American  

[pree-muh-nish-uhn, prem-uh-] / ˌpri məˈnɪʃ ən, ˌprɛm ə- /

noun

1. a feeling of anticipation of or anxiety over a future event; presentiment.

   He had a vague premonition of danger.

   Synonyms:

   sign, omen, portent, foreboding

2. a forewarning.

---

premonition British  

/ prɪˈmɒnɪtərɪ, ˌprɛməˈnɪʃən, -trɪ /

noun

1. an intuition of a future, usually unwelcome, occurrence; foreboding

2. an early warning of a future event; forewarning

---

Other Word Forms

• premonitory adjective

Etymology

Origin of premonition

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English premunicioun, from Late Latin praemonitiōn-, stem of praemonitiō “a forewarning”; equivalent to pre- + monition; also praemunire

Example Sentences

Oddly, that cigar turned out to be an unwitting premonition.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I always feel people become more themselves when they’re in their house,” Reinsve tells me on a cloudless autumn morning at Hollyhock House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1921 premonition of California modernism.

From Los Angeles Times

On the day they finally got him, Mercedes said her husband must have felt “a premonition” because he left his keys and phone in the family car.

From Los Angeles Times

There are almost no conversations, only premonitions and plans delivered in bullet-points like a group research project.

From Los Angeles Times

I glanced over to find the mother staring into the abyss of the fridge, experiencing some premonition of what grim fate was about to befall her daughter.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• foreboding
• hunch
• omen
• portent