What is another word for portentous?

Pronunciation: [pɔːtˈɛntəs] (IPA)

Portentous is an adjective that is used to describe something that is significant or indicative of something important or ominous. Synonyms for this word include meaningful, significant, foreboding, ominous, threatening, prophetic, fateful, consequential, and momentous. In addition to these words, other synonyms for portentous can also include impressive, grandiose, pompous, and pretentious. The choice of synonym will depend on the particular context in which the word is used, and the intended meanings conveyed by the writer or speaker. Different connotations may be attached to each of these words, and thus careful consideration is essential to ensure the accurate and appropriate use of the word.

Synonyms for Portentous:

What are the hypernyms for Portentous?

A hypernym is a word with a broad meaning that encompasses more specific words called hyponyms.

What are the opposite words for portentous?

Antonyms for the word "portentous" include words like unassuming, modest, innocuous, unremarkable, ordinary, unthreatening, unimpressive, and inconspicuous. These words refer to things that do not suggest a future event or indicate something important is about to happen. Whereas "portentous" implies something ominous or threatening is going to occur, these antonyms suggest the opposite - that there is no reason to expect anything significant or noteworthy in the future. Using antonyms can help to balance out the tone of a piece of writing or speech, reminding readers or listeners that not everything has to be taken as a foreboding sign.

Usage examples for Portentous

Men would be far more generous, the difference between wealth and poverty would be less portentous, and the resources of religion and charity less crippled, if we lived in the spirit of the Lord's prayer, desirous of the advance of the kingdom, but not asking to be given to-morrow's bread until to-morrow.
"The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus"
G. A. Chadwick
In a portentous statement Mr. Peary and his party declared my Eskimos said I had not been more than two sleeps from land.
"My Attainment of the Pole"
Frederick A. Cook
Peter already inflamed with that earlier half-hour in the garden now breathed a portentous air.
"Fortitude"
Hugh Walpole

Famous quotes with Portentous

  • 'Beautifully written . . . the webs of imagery that Harris has so carefully woven . . . contains writing of which our best writers would be proud . . . there is not a singly ugly or dead sentence . . .' - or so sang the critics. is a genre novel, and all genre novels contain dead sentences - unless you feel the throb of life in such periods as 'Tommaso put the lid back on the cooler' or 'Eric Pickford answered' or 'Pazzi worked like a man possessed' or 'Margot laughed in spite of herself' or 'Bob Sneed broke the silence.' What these commentators must be thinking of, I suppose, are the bits when Harris goes all blubbery and portentous (every other phrase a spare tyre), or when, with a fugitive poeticism, he swoons us to a dying fall: 'Starling looked for a moment through the wall, past the wall, out to forever and composed herself...' 'It seemed forever ago...' 'He looked deep, deep into her eyes...' 'His dark eyes held her whole...' Needless to say, Harris has become a serial murderer of English sentences, and is a necropolis of prose.
    Martin Amis

Word of the Day

Pyrrolidonecarboxylic Acid
Pyrrolidonecarboxylic acid, commonly known as PCA, is a chemical compound frequently utilized in various industries. However, it is beneficial to be aware of alternative names or s...