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
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; cf. sagacious) + -ium -ium
Explanation
A presage is a sign that something bad is about to happen, like when you get that queasy feeling in your stomach because your mom found out you skipped band practice to go to the movies. Presage, pronounced "PREH-sige," can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, presage is a warning or omen of bad things to come, like a strange quiet and stillness in the air, presage to the coming tornado. As a verb, presage means "to make a prediction or give a warning of what's to come." A terrible end-of-season football game might presage the struggles that the team will face next season.
Vocabulary lists containing presage
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Romeo and Juliet
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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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.
It could also presage China’s stance if the U.S. were to take action against Cuba, with which Beijing has what it calls an “ironclad friendship.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
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
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
Since it must, they thought, presage the fall of some kingdom, the comet encouraged, in some sense precipitated, the invasion of England by William the Conqueror.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
