presage
Americannoun
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a presentiment or foreboding.
- Synonyms:
- premonition, indication
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something that portends or foreshadows a future event; an omen, prognostic, or warning indication.
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prophetic significance; augury.
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foresight; prescience.
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Archaic. a forecast or prediction.
verb (used with object)
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to have a presentiment of.
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to portend, foreshow, or foreshadow.
The incidents may presage war.
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to forecast; predict.
verb (used without object)
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to make a prediction.
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Archaic. to have a presentiment.
noun
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an intimation or warning of something about to happen; portent; omen
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a sense of what is about to happen; foreboding
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archaic a forecast or prediction
verb
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(tr) to have a presentiment of
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(tr) to give a forewarning of; portend
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(intr) to make a prediction
Other Word Forms
- presageful adjective
- presagefully adverb
- presager noun
- unpresaged adjective
- unpresaging adjective
Etymology
Origin of presage
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Middle French presage < Latin praesāgium presentiment, forewarning, equivalent to praesāg ( us ) having a foreboding ( prae- pre- + sāgus prophetic; sagacious ) + -ium -ium
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.
If Rosenberg is right and “odds of some policy action or communication to stabilize the yen are rising,” then this could presage a major trading reversal.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 19, 2025
Worn for a couple of weeks, the Zio monitor looks for irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation—a racing heartbeat that can presage a stroke or heart attack.
From Barron's • Nov. 5, 2025
Their book is the first such comprehensive study of HTS and is likely to presage much further research and examination.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025
They worry that its spread in cattle, which it has never before been known to infect, could presage a jump to people.
From Science Magazine • Apr. 25, 2024
“A presage of horror! What on earth do you mean?”
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
