Portent — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a sign of something about to happen

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pˈɔːɹtənt/

🇬🇧British English

/pˈɔːtənt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pˈɔːtənt/

2 syllables Say it as /pˈɔːɹtənt/.

Examples

he looked for an omen before going into battle

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

prognostic presage prodigy omen prognostication

Parts of Speech

noun	a sign of something about to happen “he looked for an omen before going into battle”

Word Forms

ominous	adjective	presaging ill fortune; ; ; - P.B.Shelley
omen	verb	indicate by signs
portentous	adjective	of momentous or ominous significance; - Herman Melville
portend	verb	indicate by signs
presage	verb	indicate by signs
prognostic	adjective	of or relating to prediction; having value for making predictions
prognosticate	verb	indicate by signs
prodigious	adjective	of momentous or ominous significance; - Herman Melville

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Zeichen

ein Zeichen dafür, dass etwas passieren wird

🇫🇷French

présage

un signe que quelque chose est sur le point de se produire

🇪🇸Spanish

presagio

una señal de que algo está por suceder

🇮🇹Italian

portento

un segno che qualcosa sta per accadere

🇳🇱Dutch

voorteken

een teken dat er iets staat te gebeuren

🇵🇹Portuguese

presságio

um sinal de que algo está prestes a acontecer

🇷🇺Russian

предзнаменование

признак того, что что-то должно произойти

India

🇮🇳Hindi

सगुन

कुछ घटित होने का संकेत

🇧🇩Bengali

দৃষ্টান্ত

কিছু ঘটতে যাচ্ছে তার চিহ্ন

🇮🇳Tamil

முன்னறிவிப்பு

ஏதோ நடக்கவிருக்கும் அறிகுறி

🇮🇳Telugu

సూచన

జరగబోయే దానికి సంకేతం

🇮🇳Marathi

दाखला

काहीतरी घडणार असल्याचे लक्षण

🇮🇳Gujarati

સંકેત

કંઈક થવાનું છે તેની નિશાની

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸೂಚಕ

ಏನಾಗಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬುದರ ಸಂಕೇತ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സൂചന

എന്തെങ്കിലും സംഭവിക്കാൻ പോകുന്നതിൻ്റെ അടയാളം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸੰਕੇਤ

ਕੁਝ ਹੋਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਸੰਕੇਤ

🇵🇰Urdu

نشان

کچھ ہونے کی علامت

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

预兆

即将发生某事的征兆

🇯🇵Japanese

前兆

これから何かが起こる前兆

🇰🇷Korean

조짐

무슨 일이 일어날 징조

🇻🇳Vietnamese

điềm báo

một dấu hiệu của một cái gì đó sắp xảy ra

🇹🇭Thai

มีความหมาย

สัญญาณของบางสิ่งที่กำลังจะเกิดขึ้น

🇮🇩Indonesian

tanda

pertanda sesuatu akan terjadi

🇵🇭Filipino

tanda

tanda ng isang bagay na malapit nang mangyari

🇲🇾Malay

petanda

tanda sesuatu akan berlaku

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نذير

علامة على شيء على وشك الحدوث

🇮🇷Persian

نشانه

نشانه ای از چیزی که در شرف وقوع است

🇹🇷Turkish

alamet

olacak bir şeyin işareti

🇮🇱Hebrew

אוֹת לַבָּאוֹת

סימן למשהו שעומד לקרות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'portent'?

The primary meaning of 'portent' is 'a sign of something about to happen'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'portent' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'portent' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'portent' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'portent' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'portent' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'portent' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'portent' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'portent' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'portent' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'portent' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted