Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of the nature of or constituting a portent; foreboding.
  • adjective Full of unspecifiable significance; exciting wonder and awe.
  • adjective Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of the nature of a portent; ominous; foreshowing ill.
  • Monstrous; prodigious; wonderful.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of the nature of a portent; containing portents; foreshadowing, esp. foreshadowing ill; ominous.
  • adjective Hence: Monstrous; prodigious; wonderful; dreadful.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of momentous or ominous significance.
  • adjective Ominously prophetic.
  • adjective Puffed up with vanity.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of momentous or ominous significance
  • adjective ominously prophetic
  • adjective puffed up with vanity

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Harris's great skill lies in pulling back every time her creation veers towards the portentous, that is to say the Tolkienesque ....

    Runemarks: Summary and book reviews of Runemarks by Joanne Harris. 2008

  • The decision to allow infant baptism is described as portentous: a dramatic sign which foreshadows something.

    the problem of infant baptism Fred 2008

  • "Yes, this has been what you might call a portentous evening," agreed

    The Motor Girls Through New England or, Held by the Gypsies Margaret Penrose

  • Nation's whole name is Carrie Amelia Nation, but having noticed from old records that her father wrote the first name "Carry," she now does the same, and considers the name portentous as concerns what she is trying and means to do.

    The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation 1905

  • Mrs. Nation's whole name is Carrie Amelia Nation, but having noticed from old records that her father wrote the first name "Carry," she now does the same, and considers the name portentous as concerns what she is trying and means to do.

    The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation Carry Amelia Nation 1878

  • Last month the judges -- bleary-eyed from reading 130 nominated books each -- attacked publishers for submitting works they called "portentous," "pretentious" and "pompous."

    Eyes On The Prize 2007

  • Her face was fixed on her, through the night; she was the creature who had escaped by force from her cage, yet there was in her whole motion assuredly, even as so dimly discerned, a kind of portentous intelligent stillness.

    The Golden Bowl — Complete Henry James 1879

  • Her face was fixed on her, through the night; she was the creature who had escaped by force from her cage, yet there was in her whole motion assuredly, even as so dimly discerned, a kind of portentous intelligent stillness.

    The Golden Bowl — Volume 2 Henry James 1879

  • Her face was fixed on her, through the night; she was the creature who had escaped by force from her cage, yet there was in her whole motion assuredly, even as so dimly discerned, a kind of portentous intelligent stillness.

    The Golden Bowl — Complete Henry James 1879

  • Her face was fixed on her, through the night; she was the creature who had escaped by force from her cage, yet there was in her whole motion assuredly, even as so dimly discerned, a kind of portentous intelligent stillness.

    The Golden Bowl — Complete Henry James 1879

Comments

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  • "Probably no ship in modern history has carried a more portentous freight." pg 23, A People's History of the United States

    December 26, 2007

  • "Once established before the grate, and consoling himself for the inadequacy of the dinner by the perfection of his cigar, Mr. Jackson became portentous and communicable."

    - Edith Wharton, 'The Age of Innocence'.

    September 19, 2009

  • on his talk show to weigh in on the portentous topic

    November 10, 2010

  • 2 definitions!

    October 15, 2014