portent

  • 1Portent — may refer to:* Portent (divination), a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future * The Portent , a comic book * USS Portent (AM 106), an Auk class minesweeper …

    Wikipedia

  • 2portent — [n1] indication, forewarning augury, bodement, boding, caution, clue, foreboding, foreshadowing, foretoken, funny feeling*, handwriting on the wall*, harbinger, hunch, omen, premonition, presage, presentiment, prognostic, prognostication, sign,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 3portent — [pôr′tent΄] n. [L portentum < portendere: see PORTEND] 1. something that portends an event about to occur, esp. an unfortunate event; omen 2. a portending; significance [a howl of dire portent] 3. something amazing; marvel …

    English World dictionary

  • 4Portent — Por*tent (?; 277), n. [L. portentum. See {Portend}.] That which portends, or foretoken; esp., that which portends evil; a sign of coming calamity; an omen; a sign. Shak. [1913 Webster] My loss by dire portents the god foretold. Dryden. [1913… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 5portent — index caution (warning), forerunner, harbinger, indicant, indication, phenomenon (unusual occurrence) …

    Law dictionary

  • 6portent — 1560s, from M.Fr. portente, from L. portentum a sign, omen, from neut. of portentus, pp. of portendre (see PORTEND (Cf. portend)) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 7portent — *foretoken, presage, prognostic, omen, augury Analogous words: presentiment, foreboding, misgiving, *apprehension: forewarning, warning, cautioning or caution (see WARN) …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 8portent — ► NOUN 1) a sign or warning that something momentous or disastrous is likely to happen. 2) archaic an exceptional or wonderful person or thing. ORIGIN Latin portentum omen, token …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9portent — [[t]pɔ͟ː(r)tent[/t]] portents N COUNT: oft N of n A portent is something that indicates what is likely to happen in the future. [FORMAL] The savage civil war there could be a portent of what s to come in the rest of the region... I hope this is a …

    English dictionary

  • 10portent — por|tent [ˈpo:tent US ˈpo:r ] n literary a sign or warning that something is going to happen = ↑omen portent of ▪ Some people believe the raven is a portent of death …

    Dictionary of contemporary English