Meaning & use
boded
Last updated
“boded” is a form of “bode”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbintransitive
Gave a sign, good or bad, about what was likely to happen in the future.
Grammar: No object; used with well or ill: the early results boded well.
Patterns
- boded well for someone
- boded ill for something
The calm, clear morning boded well for the picnic.
Her late arrival boded ill for the start of the meeting.
The rising prices boded badly for families on low incomes.
Word forms
| base form | bode |
|---|---|
| third person singular | bodes |
| past participle | boded |
| -ing form | boding |
Common combinations
- boded well
- The strong sales boded well for the new shop.
- boded ill
- The dark clouds boded ill for the match.
- boded badly
- His silence boded badly for the negotiations.
- boded well for the future
- The team's early wins boded well for the future.
Synonyms and how they differ
- foretold
- Foretold means clearly predicted what would happen, while boded only hints at likelihood.
- signaled
- Signaled is neutral and ordinary, while boded sounds literary and more solemn.
- promised
- Promised is used for good outcomes only, but boded can be good or bad.
- augured
- Augured is even more formal and suggests reading signs like an omen.
Word family
- bode verb
- to be a sign of future events
- boding noun
- a feeling that something bad is coming
- foreboding noun
- a strong feeling of coming trouble
- ominous adjective
- suggesting something bad will happen
Commonly confused: boded or bowed? boded or bided?
boded vs bowed
Bowed means bent forward or curved and has a different vowel from boded.
boded vs bided
Bided is the past tense of bide, meaning waited, as in bided his time.
Practice
The thick fog over the airport boded ___ for anyone hoping to fly that evening.
Choose one answer.
Fog delays flights, so the sign is bad, and boded ill fits. Boded well would mean a good sign, and long or soon do not form the usual pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “boded”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.