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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
presagesimple
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presagessimple
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have presagedperfect
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has presagedperfect
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am presagingprogressive
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are presagingprogressive
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is presagingprogressive
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have been presagingperfect progressive
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has been presagingperfect progressive
Past
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presagedsimple
-
had presagedperfect
-
was presagingprogressive
-
were presagingprogressive
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had been presagingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
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
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
The bust would presage the dissolution of Wings; McCartney would release a solo album, “McCartney II,” in May.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
The divergence does, however, presage what may happen when the military awards its contracts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
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
The top honor at the newly rebranded Actor Awards recognizes the ensemble cast of a film -- a decision that sometimes, but not always, presages Oscars best picture glory.
From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026
The rapidly growing rail system is a symbol of India’s modernization, and Charu’s bookish father, a workshop manager, believes in the progress it presages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
But he takes umbrage at the notion that 2023 presages a “new normal.”
From National Geographic ● Sep. 8, 2023
He added that “it presages a lot of aesthetics found during the 2010 indie gamer boom.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023
As I passed down an obscure street, I felt spread through all my palms that tingling of the nerves that presages a great leap.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
In the past, long weekly winning streaks have typically presaged more gains for the index, following some near-term weakness.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
“Not all high-profile U.S. IPOs have presaged major corrections in the S&P 500,” said John Higgins, chief economic adviser for financial markets at Capital Economics.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
He didn’t stay, but his arrival presaged their comeback, with 50 to 75 roaming the state today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
The announcement was presaged by recent headlines that Andrew wasn’t invited to join the royal family’s Christmas celebrations at their Sandringham estate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
Her cheeks were ruddy and chapped in a way that presaged irruption.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Some worry that suggests crypto’s slump could be presaging a broader market decline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
The apocalyptic imagination, he argued, imposes on history “neat, naïve patterns” presaging a turning point in the grand scheme of humanity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Scores were exposed to the virus, presaging potential catastrophe in Africa’s most populous nation.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2025
But his comments suggested the fighting had taken another ominous turn for Kyiv’s forces, potentially presaging their withdrawal from a town reduced to ruins by months of horrendous bombardment.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
Now the precise outlines of her skull show through the skin of her face, presaging death.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
