How to Use portend in a Sentence

portend

verb
  • The distant thunder portended a storm.
  • If you're superstitious, a black cat portends trouble.
  • 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
  • But many now fear that the arrests portend a broader crackdown.
    Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
  • If that doesn't portend a more NWA-centric agenda, what could?
    Arkansas Online, 17 Nov. 2022
  • Does Florida portend what’s likely to happen in the rest of the country?
    Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2021
  • Analysts reading the tea leaves have said the delay could portend good or bad news.
    BostonGlobe.com, 5 May 2021
  • Glaciers, which feed rivers and streams, are shrinking, portending to a shortage of fresh water.
    Popular Science, 23 Jan. 2020
  • And the way Clemson arrived on the scene and stayed could portend exactly what the Bulldogs are preparing to do.
    cleveland, 9 Nov. 2022
  • Dozens of other tribes echoed Nez’s call, fearing what this case could portend for their own sovereignty.
    Nick Martin, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2020
  • But there was always the buzz of helicopters above, portending the next raid.
    Hilary Beaumont, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2023
  • What food could cause such joy or portend such disaster?
    Sarah Schutte, National Review, 24 Dec. 2023
  • Breaks below those areas of support could portend near-term weakness.
    Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 6 Sep. 2024
  • The company also took a nearly $6 billion write-down on the value of its cable networks, which portends further contraction.
    Dade Hayes, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2024

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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