portending
present participle ofportend
portend
verb[T]
formaluk/pɔːˈtend/us/pɔːrˈtend/to be asignthat somethingbadislikelytohappenin thefuture:
It was adeeplysuperstitiouscountry, whereearthquakeswerecommonlybelievedto portend the end ofdynasties.
Synonyms
augurformal
betokenold use
bodeformal
foreshadowformal
prefigureformal
presageformal
Predicting things and intuition
- augur
- augury
- bellwether
- betcha
- bode
- far-sighted
- inkling
- instinct
- intuit
- intuition
- intuitive
- presage
- prescience
- prescient
- prophecy
- prophesy
- second-guess
- the writing is on the wallidiom
- unreasoning
- visionary
Examplesofportending
portending
In English, many past and present participles of verbs can be used as adjectives. Some of these examples may show the adjective use.
Placed on an enemy's head, it would have been a humiliating referenceportendingdeath as well as conversion into a loser/woman/moon.
From theCambridge English Corpus
It is certainly not my belief that there is anyportendingdifficulty in this matter, either constitutionally or voluntarily.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It is right and proper to bear in mind the nuclear capabilitiesportendingso many uncertainties.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Stifled because the death it wasportendinghas taken place.
From
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.At the bottom of the composition are a scepter, a crown, and the mask of tragedy,portendingthe child's brilliant future.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Jung explains their crucially significant mythological content andportendinginfluence.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Often they are used in humorous ways depicting awkward positioning or meticulous precision, orportendinga character's impending death by having them prematurely fall into a drawn outline.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
- horror-struck
- horror-struck
- hors de combat
- hors-de-combat
- hors d'oeuvre
- hors-d-oeuvre
- horse
- horse around
- horse-around
- horseback
- horseback rider
- horseback riding
- horseback-riding
- horsebox
- horse chestnut
- horse-chestnut
- horse-collar
- horse-collar
- horse-drawn
- horse-drawn
- horse-drawn carriage
- horse-drawn cart
- horse-drawn vehicle
- horse float
- horse-float