Meaning & use
bode well
Last updated
Meaning
phrasephrasal verbformal
To be a sign that something good is likely to happen in the future.
Grammar: Usually followed by for: this bodes well for the team. The verb bode changes (bodes, boded) but well stays the same.
Patterns
- bode well for someone
- bode well for something
- it bodes well that something happens
The early sales figures bode well for the company's future.
A calm start to the negotiations bodes well for peace.
The strong turnout at the first meeting bodes well for the project.
Word forms
| third person singular | bodes well |
|---|---|
| past tense | boded well |
| past participle | boded well |
| -ing form | boding well |
Common combinations
- bode well for the future
- The students' enthusiasm bodes well for the future of the club.
- bode well for next season
- The young players' skill bodes well for next season.
- does not bode well
- The dark clouds do not bode well for our picnic.
- bode well for the economy
- Rising wages could bode well for the economy.
- bode well for negotiations
- The friendly tone bodes well for the negotiations.
Synonyms and how they differ
- augur well
- Augur well means the same and is even more formal and old-fashioned, linked to ancient predictions.
- promise
- Promise as a verb also signals good things to come but is more general and can take a direct object, such as 'promise success'.
- look promising
- Look promising is the everyday way to say things seem to be going well, while bode well sounds more formal.
- portend
- Portend is neutral or negative, often for omens of trouble, so it does not carry the good meaning that bode well does.
Opposites
Word family
- bode verb
- to be a sign of something to come
- boding noun
- an omen or feeling of coming trouble; archaic
- foreboding noun
- a strong feeling that something bad will happen
- ominous adjective
- suggesting that something bad will happen
Commonly confused: bode well or bode ill? bode well or abode?
bode well vs bode ill
Bode ill is the opposite, meaning to be a bad sign; learners often forget that bode needs well or ill to show which.
bode well vs abode
An abode is a home. It looks like bode but is a different noun.
Practice
Which phrase has the same meaning as 'The first results bode well for the project'?
Choose one answer.
Bode well means to be a good sign for the future. The other choices suggest confusion, cost or worry, none of which is the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bode well”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.