Meaning & use
portend
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveformalliterary
To be a sign that something important, often bad, is about to happen.
Grammar: Takes an object: dark clouds portend a storm.
Patterns
- portend something
- portend well
- portend ill
Dark clouds portend a coming storm.
The sudden silence seemed to portend trouble.
The early results portend a close election.
verbtransitive or intransitiveformal
To be an indication of what the future will be like, favorable or unfavorable.
Grammar: Often with 'well' or 'ill' and no object.
Patterns
- portend well for someone
- portend ill for someone
The strong start portends well for the season.
Falling sales portend ill for the company.
Such signs portend change.
Word forms
| third person singular | portends |
|---|---|
| past tense | portended |
| past participle | portended |
| -ing form | portending |
Common combinations
- portend disaster
- The cracks in the wall portend disaster.
- portend ill
- The news portended ill for the town.
- portend well
- Her calm manner portends well for the talks.
- portend change
- The new leader's speech portends change.
- portend trouble
- The strange noise portended trouble.
Synonyms and how they differ
- foretell
- Foretell means to predict, but portend means to be a sign of something to come.
- herald
- Herald can be positive and suggests announcing the start of something.
- augur
- Augur is closer in meaning and used with 'well' or 'ill', though it is rarer.
- presage
- Presage is literary, meaning to be a warning sign.
Word family
- portent noun
- a sign that something is about to happen
- portentous adjective
- ominous or self-importantly solemn
- portentously adverb
- in an ominous way
Commonly confused: portend or portent? portend or pretend?
portend vs portent
Portent is the noun for the sign, while portend is the verb for being such a sign.
portend vs pretend
Pretend means to act as if something is true, while portend means to warn of the future.
Practice
The sudden drop in the barometer seemed to ___ a violent storm.
Choose one answer.
Portend means to be a warning sign of something to come. Pretend means to fake, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “portend”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.