betoken
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give evidence of; indicate.
to betoken one's fidelity with a vow; a kiss that betokens one's affection.
-
to be or give a token or sign of; portend.
a thunderclap that betokens foul weather; an angry word that betokens hostility.
verb
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to indicate; signify
black clothes betoken mourning
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to portend; augur
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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betokensimple
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betokenssimple
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have betokenedperfect
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has betokenedperfect
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am betokeningprogressive
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are betokeningprogressive
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is betokeningprogressive
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have been betokeningperfect progressive
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has been betokeningperfect progressive
Past
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betokenedsimple
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had betokenedperfect
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was betokeningprogressive
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were betokeningprogressive
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had been betokeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of betoken
First recorded in 1125–75, betoken is from the Middle English word bitocnen, bitacnen. See be-, token
Explanation
A dark sky full of clouds might betoken a thunderstorm. In other words, the clouds indicate or point to the fact that a thunderstorm is on its way. You're most likely to come across the word betoken in an English class or a book, since it's primarily a literary word used to express the idea of signifying or symbolizing something. There's often a sense of mystery around the word; for example, a black cat might betoken bad luck, or be an omen of something slightly scary. However, there are plenty of cheerful examples, like when a ring betokens love.
Vocabulary lists containing betoken
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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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:
The SpaceX IPO had some peculiarities that have made the stock especially volatile, and betoken more volatility ahead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
This “Cyrano” centers the freedom that new forms of drama betoken, and all the ways that the writing of the past can feed them — from Rostand to Emily Dickinson.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2022
In electoral politics, likewise: a successful re-election that seemed to betoken a sustained realignment for the Democrats.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2017
"They don't start anything, and probably didn't determine much — but betoken a widespread disgust in the air."
From US News ● Sep. 30, 2016
It does not betoken a broad, deep, philosophic mind, but it does betoken a warm, clinging, affectionate nature.
From Recollections and Impressions 1822-1890 by Frothingham, Octavius Brooks
As in the case of Baker’s work, Akhtar’s Pulitzer recognition betokens a voice wholly deserving of a wider audience.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2016
And there is Sicilia himself, a compelling figure: worn but not weary, soft-spoken in a way that betokens strength.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2015
“That man betokens such a level of ignorance and a direct falsification of the existing scientific data,” Brown told host Chuck Todd.
From US News ● Mar. 23, 2015
Not just denies: “That man betokens such a level of ignorance and a direct falsification of scientific data,” Brown said Sunday during an appearance on Meet the Press.
From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2015
Researchers have often wondered whether the Inka collapse betokens a major historical lesson.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The statistics betokened a return to artistic health for the 41 theaters of Broadway, forced to shut down for 15 months starting in March 2020 because of the pandemic.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2022
Castro, ageing and ill, retained remnants of his charisma over these last few years but his gaunt frame and wide, non-seeing eyes betokened a world that was past.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 26, 2016
“But even that’s a cliché, you know. And then you’ve got ‘the sun peeped through the foliage’ and ‘the ominous black clouds that betokened thunder’—betokened, right?
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 10, 2016
I think Obama really betokened a new day in America.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2016
Her eager glances betokened uneasiness rather than interest.
From Mitchelhurst Place, Vol. I (of 2) A Novel by Veley, Margaret
Set designer Donald Eastman places the action in an airy courtyard of broken concrete slabs — the cracks in the cement betokening the fissures that will symbolically swallow up Floyd.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2021
Steven Soderbergh is an executive producer, betokening prestige and meaning that his name is linked with the title in every press report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2017
These days, you might well think, to have your house blurred from Google Street View is the new status symbol, a must-have digital absence betokening your big-ass presence in the world of celebrity.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2014
His instrument for this was color, betokening light.
From Time Magazine Archive
When fairly outside the bar, the tables were set, and the hungry passengers had begun fortifying their stomachs with eager emulation, when I perceived a commotion among the officers and men betokening something wrong.
From The Captive in Patagonia by Bourne, Benjamin Franklin
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.
