Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

portend

/pɔɹˈtɛnd/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.14 in modern English

Syllables: por-tend
IPA: /pɔɹˈtɛnd/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To serve as a warning or omen of.

Transitive verb

verb

To signify; to denote.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"A kingdom they portend thee, but what kingdom, / Real or allegoric, I discern not; Nor when: eternal sure--as without end,"
"Let it be known that the Rapture portends the End of Days."
"How alive these poems are with the visual specifics of what he so closely observes, how full of elegance, terror and hope. They portend a poet of major craft, of deep feeling, and of fine intelligence."
"When the staccato, Neptunes-ian single “Boyfriend” was released in March, musical prognosticators were quick to peg the album it portended, Believe, as Justin Bieber’s Justified, a grown-and-sexy, R&B-centric departure that evolved millennial teenybopper Justin Timberlake into one of the unifying pop-music figures of the aughts."
"Margo vomits at her waitressing job without realizing what it portends."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin portendere (“to foretell”), from por- (“forward”) + tendere (“to stretch”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *per-, portendere

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pɔɹˈtɛnd/
British English: /pɔːˈtɛnd/

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

portends (present, singular) portending (participle, present) portended (participle, past) portended (past)

Derived Forms

portender portention portendment

Frequently Paired Words

portent portentive portentous harbinger

Synonyms

foreshadow presage bode auspicate prognosticate omen betoken augur foretell prefigure forecast predict

Rhymes With

end high-end friend send dead-end spend recommend tend attend trend defend extend

Questions

How do you pronounce portend?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɔɹˈtɛnd/.
What does portend mean?: To serve as a warning or omen of.
Where does portend come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce portend

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “portend”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɔɹˈtɛnd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “portend”.
Repeat and practice — Say “portend” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.