verb
- to be a sign or warning that something (especially something bad) will happen in the future
Usage: formal
Examples
- The dark clouds portend a severe storm.
- Economic experts believe the rising unemployment rate portends a recession.
- The strange behavior of the animals portends an earthquake.
- Her sudden silence portends trouble ahead.
- The company’s declining sales portend difficult times.
- Ancient peoples believed that eclipses portended disaster.