portentous
having important, future significance
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Beyond the impressive numbers—Russia will sell China $400 billion of gas over 30 years starting in 2018—the symbolism was PORTENTOUS.
(Slate magazine)
---
Before me stretched the PORTENTOUS menacing road of a new decade.
(from the Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
(Slate magazine)
---
Before me stretched the PORTENTOUS menacing road of a new decade.
(from the Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Did you
know?
portentous
adjective
- of momentous significance
(Oxford Dictionary)
---
Portentous is a 16th century word from the Latin portentosus (monstrous, marvellous, threatening), which in turn stems from portentem. The root of portentem - portent - is from portend, meaning to foretell, reveal, point out or indicate (originally "to stretch forward"). Portentous thus refers to something that has major significance or importance, especially for the future.
Portentous is also used to describe something or someone that appears too serious or is trying to be overly important:
- The portentous security guard at the entrance to the disco looked at my ID card for 2 minutes before letting me in.
- The presentation was a portentous attempt to explain a very simple problem.
Usage Note: The last syllable of portentous is properly pronounced "sherss". However, under the influence of words like contentious and pretentious, sometimes it is pronounced "shee-erss", as though it were spelled portentious. This pronunciation and the spelling with the i (which is occasionally seen in print) are widely considered to be mistakes.
---
SYNONYMS
(foreboding)
alarming fateful, important, ominous, prophetic, significant
(overly serious)
cocksure, haughty, high and mighty, officious, overbearing, self-appointed, self-important
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Last year's report had many portentous references to current developments in the stock market."
adjective
- of momentous significance
(Oxford Dictionary)
---
Portentous is a 16th century word from the Latin portentosus (monstrous, marvellous, threatening), which in turn stems from portentem. The root of portentem - portent - is from portend, meaning to foretell, reveal, point out or indicate (originally "to stretch forward"). Portentous thus refers to something that has major significance or importance, especially for the future.
Portentous is also used to describe something or someone that appears too serious or is trying to be overly important:
- The portentous security guard at the entrance to the disco looked at my ID card for 2 minutes before letting me in.
- The presentation was a portentous attempt to explain a very simple problem.
Usage Note: The last syllable of portentous is properly pronounced "sherss". However, under the influence of words like contentious and pretentious, sometimes it is pronounced "shee-erss", as though it were spelled portentious. This pronunciation and the spelling with the i (which is occasionally seen in print) are widely considered to be mistakes.
---
SYNONYMS
(foreboding)
alarming fateful, important, ominous, prophetic, significant
(overly serious)
cocksure, haughty, high and mighty, officious, overbearing, self-appointed, self-important
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Last year's report had many portentous references to current developments in the stock market."
