1
: an official diviner of ancient Rome
2
: one held to foretell events by omens
augured; auguring; augurs
1
: to foretell especially from omens
2
: to give promise of : presage
This bad news augurs disaster for all of us.
: to predict the future especially from omens
Did you know?
In ancient Rome, augurs were official diviners whose function it was to divine whether the gods approved of a proposed undertaking, such as a military move. They did so by various means, among them observing the behavior of birds and examining the entrails of sacrificed animals. We doubt the Romans predicted that augur would eventuate into a verb meaning “presage or foretell,” but in retrospect, augur’s path must have been in the stars.
Examples of augur in a Sentence
Noun
ancient Roman augurs who predicted the future by reading the flight of birds
Verb
The decision doesn't augur well.
the extended interview augurs well for your acceptance into that law school
Recent Examples on the Web
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2025
That the American Cash has been brought on board augurs well for a Broadway transfer, an idea that seems not so much likely as rightly inevitable.
—David Benedict, Variety, 7 May 2025
Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
Vegas has struggled on offense but rookie RB Ashton Jeanty’s breakout game last week augurs well.
—Greg Cote
october 2, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for augur
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Noun
Success for the both the Lamb of God and the Bear of Blow augur well for films not based on existing IP — even if both movies are technically (very technically) based on true events.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2025
That the American Cash has been brought on board augurs well for a Broadway transfer, an idea that seems not so much likely as rightly inevitable.
—David Benedict, Variety, 7 May 2025
Verb
That may sound like a funny thing to say, in 2025, or in any year since the legendary rock singer-songwriter died in 2003, given a perennial underdog status that never augured for anything that would be likely to be called a posthumous groundswell, per se.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
Vegas has struggled on offense but rookie RB Ashton Jeanty’s breakout game last week augurs well.
—Greg Cote
october 2, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for augur
Cite this Entry
“Augur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/augur. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
augur
1 of 2 noun
au·gur
ˈȯ-gər 
: a person (as in ancient Rome) who foretells the future by omens
augur
2 of 2 verb1
: to predict from signs or omens
2
: to give promise of
this augurs well for the future
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