portend

portend

foreshadow as an omen; signify; foretell; forecast; forebode: The skies portend a possible hurricane.

Not to be confused with:

pretend – make believe; deceive; feign: pretend surprise; simulate, fake, sham, counterfeit; assume: pretend a title

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

por·tend

 (pôr-tĕnd′)

tr.v. por·tend·ed, por·tend·ing, por·tends

1. To serve as an omen or a warning of; presage: black clouds that portend a storm.

2. To indicate by prediction; forecast: leading economic indicators that portend a recession.

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[Middle English portenden, from Latin portendere; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

portend

(pɔːˈtɛnd)

vb (tr)

1. to give warning of; predict or foreshadow

2. obsolete to indicate or signify; mean

[C15: from Latin portendere to indicate, foretell; related to prōtendere to stretch out]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

por•tend

(pɔrˈtɛnd, poʊr-)

v.t.

1. to indicate in advance, as an omen does; foreshadow or presage.

2. to signify; mean.

[1400–50; < Latin portendere=por- forth, forward + tendere to stretch]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

portend

Past participle: portended
Gerund: portending

Imperative

portend

portend

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

portend - indicate by signs; "These signs bode bad news" augur, auspicate, bode, foreshadow, omen, presage, prognosticate, predict, prefigure, betoken, forecast, foretell threaten - to be a menacing indication of something:"The clouds threaten rain"; "Danger threatens" bespeak, betoken, indicate, signal, point - be a signal for or a symptom of; "These symptoms indicate a serious illness"; "Her behavior points to a severe neurosis"; "The economic indicators signal that the euro is undervalued" foreshow - foretell by divine inspiration

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

portend

verb foretell, promise, threaten, indicate, predict, point to, herald, warn of, omen, bode, foreshadow, bespeak, augur, harbinger, presage, forewarn, betoken, prognosticate, adumbrate, foretoken, vaticinate (rare) Comets, in Western tradition, always portend doom and gloom.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

portend

verb

To give an indication of something in advance:

adumbrate, augur, bode, forecast, forerun, foreshadow, foretell, foretoken, prefigure, presage, prognosticate.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

hinweisenankündigendeutenhindeutenvorbedeuten

προοιωνίζομαι

portend

[pɔːˈtend] VT (liter) → augurar, presagiar
what does this portend? → ¿qué significa esto?

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

portend

[pɔː^rˈtɛnd] vt → présager, annoncer

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

portend

vt (form) → bedeuten, hindeuten auf (+acc); what does this portend? → was hat das zu bedeuten?

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

portend

[pɔːˈtɛnd] vt (frm) → far presagire

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995