as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
foreboding clouds began to gather
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in feel
a feeling that something bad will happen
I have this strange foreboding that your ski vacation will not turn out well, so be extra careful
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in portent
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
used to think that if he saw a blackbird fly over his left shoulder it was a foreboding of harm
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dread
suspicion or fear of future harm or misfortune
a pessimist who is always overcome by a sense of foreboding before flying on an airplane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also forboding
as in promising
to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome
the dry summer doesn't forebode well for the harvest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of foreboding
Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Gene Taylor, a former public official in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, when Hurricane Katrina made landfall there in 2005, offered another foreboding tip to people considering riding out a potentially deadly storm surge.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2024
Pankaj Mishra, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2016
The soundtrack drones with foreboding; the McCain team look around nervously.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for foreboding 
Adjective
Improbable poses, struck by working behind the scenes with contortionists, only heighten the palpable tension extended through an unusual use of taxidermy and foreboding landscapes that beg for a moment of release.
—Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Gene Taylor, a former public official in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, when Hurricane Katrina made landfall there in 2005, offered another foreboding tip to people considering riding out a potentially deadly storm surge.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2024
Noun
Beginning in the 1990s, a revolution of personal, materialistic aspirations—an extension of the one that Alexis de Tocqueville had witnessed with much foreboding in the United States in the 1830s—swept the world.
—Pankaj Mishra, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2016
The soundtrack drones with foreboding; the McCain team look around nervously.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for foreboding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreboding
Adjective
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That’s an ominous sign for higher education leaders, who now must prepare to address a slow, continuing slide in high-school seniors, who make up the bulk of their entering students every year.Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Rolling with the sound of Slo-Be Bryant 3, one of the great West Coast tapes of the 2020s, Slo-Be’s steely, ominous murmurs give his sentimental gangster rap the air of sorcery.Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The two latest full episodes of Bluey that aired earlier in 2024 as part of season 3 packed a walloping one-two punch of feels (and fan speculation).DeVonne Goode, Parents, 17 Dec. 2024
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For an extra luxe feel, go with velvet ribbon whose elegant texture will highlight the moody color.Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Cleveland scored on the very next play, the portent of a wild night to come. 2.Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2024
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Its peaceful stillness and silence can become desolation, and its beautiful bleakness a portent of doom.Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
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In a year of exuberance and dread, songs came from every which way to comfort, to amuse, to haunt, to tantalize.August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024
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In addition, Head owns leading binding brand Tyrolia, and the Protector bindings are a major safety innovation and big deal in the marketplace, designed to help prevent knee injuries, a dread of skiers everywhere.Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The stakes are high, but in my opinion, the tools and methods being proposed—while promising on paper—are unlikely to resist the gravitational pull of the entrenched culture within government.Greg Orme, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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As digital assets gain value and adoption increases, particularly in light of an incoming administration promising favorable regulatory change, the need for robust custody solutions remains vital.Lior Lamesh, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The film reveals how a young Putin gains control of the various Russian bureaucracies through sinister manipulation, cutting off the internet and other media when necessary.Peter Bart, Deadline, 1 Dec. 2024
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The Fungus Seduces Male Flies To Spread Faster Beyond its ability to manipulate living flies, E. muscae wields another sinister tool in its arsenal: turning the corpses of its victims into irresistible traps for healthy male flies.Scott Travers, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
Noun
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When the casting director showed her Consuelos' picture, Ripa had a premonition.Esther Kang, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024
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But she’s overcome by fear, a premonition that catastrophe is on the way.John Bleasdale, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Its Shakti 360 Leti was the forerunner for luxury experiential travel more than 16 years ago, and in the wake of that lodge’s closure (and stone-by-stone dismantling), the new Shakti Prana in Kumaon will continue that evolution.Ann Abel, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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Now unified under a mainstream banner, the genre has become a forerunner of popular music.Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 10 June 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near foreboding
Cite this Entry
“Foreboding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreboding. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
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