portentous
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin portentōsus, from portentus; equivalent to portent + -ous.
Adjective
portentous (comparative more portentous, superlative most portentous)
- Of momentous or ominous significance.
- c. 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act 1, scene 1; republished as Hamlet, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992, →ISBN, page 4:
- Well may it sort [be fitting] that this portentous figure comes armed through our watch, so like the King that was and is the question of these wars.
- 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness, chapter 2:
- It is no longer in my possession, but my memory holds almost every word of its portentous message; and again I affirm my confidence in the sanity of the man who wrote it.
- 2019 March 15, Rachel Aroesti, “The Cinematic Orchestra: To Believe review – soundscape originators' accomplished return”, in The Guardian[1]:
- The main problem with To Believe, however, is that by combining two of their previous styles, the Cinematic Orchestra have landed on a sound that has become ubiquitous in the years they’ve been away – portentous, restrained and impeccably tasteful electronica.
- Ominously prophetic.
- Synonyms: foreshadowing, predictive, premonitory, prognosticatory
- Puffed up with vanity.
Related terms
Translations
ominous; portending evil
|
vain; marvelous; prodigious; wonderful
|