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
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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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of portent
Scenes play out with all the portent of a Catholic Mass.
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Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
For those who looked, there were signs and portents of core Democratic policies pushed offstage.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024
The film finds the old Hollywood hand of Howard making the film independently and coming into the festival looking for distribution, which adds a little more dramatic portent to the premiere.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2024
While in Russia, Imbrie witnessed a peasant shot dead by a guard over a miniscule amount of food—a portent of the Great Famine that would soon claim millions of lives.
—Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for portent 
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
For those who looked, there were signs and portents of core Democratic policies pushed offstage.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024
The film finds the old Hollywood hand of Howard making the film independently and coming into the festival looking for distribution, which adds a little more dramatic portent to the premiere.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2024
While in Russia, Imbrie witnessed a peasant shot dead by a guard over a miniscule amount of food—a portent of the Great Famine that would soon claim millions of lives.
—Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for portent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portent
Noun
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These projects breathed new life into the U.S. conservation movement, the forerunner of today’s climate activism.Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Foreign Affairs, 22 July 2020
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Embrace change, become a forerunner and refuse to let emotional interference deter productivity.Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Accounts of miracles, religious sermons and other such cultural artifacts allowed medieval authors to cloak their critiques of power and reveal what was really going on in the world.Matthew Gabriele, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2024
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If Trump gets Moscow to accept reasonable armistice terms by squeezing its vulnerable economy, then his election won’t turn out to be the miracle that Putin was hoping for.Theodore Bunzel, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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They have been associated with bad omens, according to English-language accounts of Japanese folklore.James Doubek, NPR, 20 Nov. 2024
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Both make strong cases that U.S. security and prosperity depend on naval dominance, and both are laden with omens that commercial waters will once again turn violent.Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
Noun
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Gill resurfaced on social media earlier in 2024, after a three-year hiatus leading to a deluge of excited messages from his followers, many of whom have likened the social media phenomenon to a David who took on Wall Street's Goliaths and won.Manya Saini, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
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Overwater bungalows are a somewhat newer phenomenon in the world of hospitality.Kathryn Romeyn, Architectural Digest, 6 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Poor sleep is associated with insulin resistance (cells do not respond to insulin to take in blood glucose for energy, causing blood sugar levels to rise), which may be the precursor to prediabetes (having blood sugar levels that are not quite high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes).Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 16 Dec. 2024
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The last time the Democratic Party faced this scale of electoral defeat was also the precursor to its greatest twenty-first-century success.Ben Rhodes, Foreign Affairs, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The gel texture works wonders on dull skin, and the vitamin C from blueberry extract defends against free radicals and damage from UV exposure.Deanna Pai, Allure, 13 Dec. 2024
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One such wonder is the Blue Mosque, or the Sultan Ahmed Mosque as it is known to locals.Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Modiri, who also appears as a high-ranking security services hostage negotiator in the film’s final section, inundates his screenplay with aural and visual foreshadowing.Alissa Simon, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
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Episode writer Zachary Reiter knows exactly how to ham up the calm before the storm, warming us up with sentimental moments (like a mother preparing her son for his first date) and frisky foreshadowing (of course there’s a couple getting it on in the bathroom).Laura Bradley, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2024
Noun
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This 500-year-old architectural marvel has been transformed into a vibrant cultural complex that includes a functioning hamam, a museum, and a contemporary art gallery.Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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With a rich history dating back thousands of years, Istanbul is chock-full of architectural marvels.Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 12 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Portent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portent. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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