forebode
/fɔɹˈbɔʊd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.12 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To predict a future event; to hint at something that will happen (especially as a literary device).
verb
To be prescient of (some ill or misfortune); to have an inward conviction of, as of a calamity which is about to happen; to augur despondingly.
Example Sentences
- "There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that may be buried with a human heart."
- "Sullen, desponding, and foreboding nothing but wars and desolation, as the certain consequence of Caesar's death."
- "Here sits he shaping wings to fly: / His heart forebodes a mystery: / He names the name Eternity."
- "Walter was disturbed by a low rap at the door. It was so indistinct and hesitating, that, at first, he thought himself mistaken; a second summons, however, led him to rise and open to his visitor. It was the very person that he foreboded—Mr. Curl."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɔɹˈbɔʊd/
- British English: /fɔːˈbəʊd/