What does portent mean?
A portent is something regarded as a sign that a particular future event is about to occur. It may be an unusual occurrence, a natural phenomenon, or a development in public life, but its conventional associations are strongly negative: portents commonly suggest danger, disaster, political upheaval, or other unwelcome developments. The word is chiefly used in formal, literary, and journalistic contexts, where it conveys greater gravity than a simple sign or warning. For example, a collapse in industry might be described as a portent of economic decline, while unusual celestial activity could be treated as a portent of calamity. Although a portent can technically refer to any indication of a future event, it almost always implies a foreboding one. Its distinctive power comes from combining prediction with unease: it does not merely report what has happened but frames the present as evidence of what may yet come.
nounAn event, sign, or development regarded as indicating what will happen in the future, especially an event suggesting misfortune or disaster.
- An event, sign, or development believed to foretell a future occurrence, especially one indicating misfortune or disaster.
"The sudden collapse of the old bridge was regarded as a portent of wider economic trouble."
"Black clouds gathered over the hills, a portent of the storm to come."
"The sudden increase in unemployment was taken as a portent of a prolonged recession."
The plural is commonly used in the expression “portents of doom” and in references to multiple signs of impending trouble.
"The growing cracks in the dam were unmistakable portents of disaster."
Portent has roots in Latin portendere, “to stretch forth,” a phrase that eventually came to mean “to foretell.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does portent come from?
The word comes from Latin portendere, formed from por- and tendere, “to stretch.” In Latin, portendere originally referred to extending or pointing forth and came to mean “to foretell” or “to presage.” English adopted the noun in the late 16th century for an omen, particularly one interpreted as indicating misfortune.
Related word forms
How portent is actually used
Chiefly literary or formal. The word usually has an ominous or alarming connotation and is often used for signs interpreted as evidence of coming disaster.
Easily confused with portent
A portent is a sign or event thought to foretell the future, whereas to portend is to indicate that something will happen.