1
as in forerunner
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
a red sky in the morning can be a portent of a coming storm
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in miracle
something extraordinary or surprising
a scout was sent to have a look at this teenage pitcher who was supposed to be the latest portent of the baseball world
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of portent
Other auspicious portents are appearing, Worden says, that signal initial Mars colonies could begin spreading out, beneath crystalline hemispheric domes, across the 2030s.
—
Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Advertisement Mamdani’s performance as mayor would be scrutinized for portents of the Democrats’ future.
—Mark Chiusano, Time, 14 Aug. 2025
This would turn out to be a portent of what was to come.
—Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
Her appearance at the funeral had only been a portent of her tragic death.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for portent
Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Advertisement Mamdani’s performance as mayor would be scrutinized for portents of the Democrats’ future.
—Mark Chiusano, Time, 14 Aug. 2025
This would turn out to be a portent of what was to come.
—Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
Her appearance at the funeral had only been a portent of her tragic death.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for portent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portent
Noun
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The investor and industrialist Andrew Mellon enjoyed a lengthy tenure as Treasury secretary—a forerunner to Trump’s Treasury appointees, Steven Mnuchin and Scott Bessent, both of them recruited straight from Wall Street.—
Evan Hughes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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Half of those tested had osteoporosis or a forerunner condition, osteopenia.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In early tests, families reportedly played for two straight hours without anyone reaching for a phone — a small miracle in 2025.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
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Patience paid off for one overjoyed pet owner in Florida after a miracle recently took place.—
TJ Macias,
Miami Herald,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In what sure felt like an omen to me, earlier this year, DoorDash announced a partnership with the payment-by-installment company Klarna, thereby allowing customers to pay off an order of pad thai over several months.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
27 Oct. 2025
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His playing has now come to be an omen of danger, so visitors who hear drums playing should be wary.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Because John Herschel believed that the correlation between magnetic storms and auroras revealed both to be meteorological phenomena, the new observatories would be equipped with weather instruments that, in time, would permit the first global measurements of climate change.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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What van Teutem describes, however, is part of a systemwide phenomenon that’s been decades in the making.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This monster is the precursor to slasher villains like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, who lumber along on their killing sprees, though this blueprint is far more sympathetic.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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It is then converted into acetic acid, a key methane precursor.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Over the past seven decades, thousands of sophisticated spacecraft have been launched on ambitious missions to look down on our planet, explore the wonders of our star's domain, or venture into the interstellar realm beyond it.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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The property also serves as a basecamp to the wonders of Olympic National Park, with easy access to Sol Duc Falls, where water thunders over mossy rock, and the pristine, glacially carved Lake Crescent.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Handed an eight-run lead in the eighth inning, the Dodgers’ bullpen struggled to get the final six outs – a performance the Dodgers can only hope is not a foreshadowing of postseason problems to come.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
1 Oct. 2025
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An Easter egg to me is more of a wink to the fans or narrative foreshadowing in some kind of way.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This natural marvel, known as the Emerald Cave, is only part of the experience, which begins on the Colorado River where Nevada meets Arizona.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
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Technological marvels do little to ameliorate the hardscrabble existence of most workers; sixty-five-year labor contracts are the norm.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portent. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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