How to Use portend in a Sentence

portend

verb
  • The distant thunder portended a storm.
  • If you're superstitious, a black cat portends trouble.
  • Such ball dominance doesn’t portend to mesh well with Curry.
    Michael Shapiro, SI.com, 2 Oct. 2019
  • All of which portends an even more turbulent and dispiriting election than the last one.
    The Economist, 1 Oct. 2019
  • But if weak oil prices portend a flat line for the next year or so, then investors’ demand for that high dividend yield wouldn’t be going anywhere.
    Liam Denning | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2019
  • But when every new bit of news seems to portend doom for this most beloved pastime, there’s still reason not to be a complete pessimist about the future of moviegoing.
    Esther Zuckerman, Vox, 13 June 2024
  • The birth of a white buffalo fulfilled a Lakota prophecy portending better times.
    Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
  • The Nuggets are confident that Murray’s habits portend a more consistent player.
    Mike Singer, The Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2019
  • However, when tough times portend, seed funds start to worry about what would happen to the portfolio companies if fundraising started slowing.
    Sajith Pai, Quartz India, 14 Oct. 2019
  • Some are suggesting the strong growth of e-commerce – coupled with slow sales at physical stores – portends the doom of traditional retailing.
    Anthony Dukes, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2019
  • That could portend bigger changes further down the organizational chart, or maybe just minor reassignments.
    Jon Tayler, SI.com, 23 Sep. 2019
  • Ahmin’s diagnosis portended a lifetime of medical difficulties, and science might be able to make things better.
    Damian Garde, STAT, 18 Nov. 2019
  • Insisting on absolute human supremacy in all instances does not portend well for us in the Intelligent Machine Age.
    BostonGlobe.com, 19 Oct. 2019
  • Game 2 made up for it, and portends high drama the rest of the way..
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 9 May 2024
  • That seemed to portend good things for the United States.
    Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2021
  • Would seem to portend good things in the postseason for the NFC's No. 2 seed.
    Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2023
  • The fact of the matter is, the future portends a certain amount of anger.
    Libby Watson, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2020
  • The disputes in Chongqing and Hangzhou could portend more unrest to come.
    Muyi Xiao, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2023
  • Doesn’t really portend well for the rest of his trysts, no?
    Jessica Goldstein, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2021
  • His rise could portend a swing to the left in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, who will vote for new leaders this year and next.
    Marco Aquino and Stefanie Eschenbacher, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2021
  • But does the war portend the end of the post-Cold War era of heightened globalization?
    Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Apr. 2022
  • The tougher question is what these findings might portend.
    Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 31 Dec. 2021
  • His sentiment could portend a rocky road for some of the reforms.
    Brittany Wallman, sun-sentinel.com, 30 Aug. 2021
  • All of which could portend another spike in cases like the city saw last fall.
    Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 23 Mar. 2021
  • Of course, starting a lot of games in college does not portend success in and of itself.
    BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2021
  • But what does that portend for the next two years, legislatively?
    NBC News, 13 Nov. 2022
  • That doesn’t portend well for your wallet this Valentine’s Day.
    Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Did that continue this year, and does that portend anything for next year?
    Galen Druke, ABC News, 19 Dec. 2023
  • The boost is small, but farmers are hoping that progress on one trade agreement portends an end to the trade war with China.
    Josh Wingrove, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2019
  • With the Continent on the brink between the Old World and all that the 20th century would portend, only a crazy clown would do.
    Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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