portentous

adjective por·ten·tous \pȯr-ˈten-təs\

: giving a sign or warning that something usually bad or unpleasant is going to happen

: trying to seem important, serious, or impressive

Full Definition of PORTENTOUS

: of, relating to, or constituting a portent <suspense, portentous foreshadowing, hints of sinister and violent mysteries — Francine Prose>

: eliciting amazement or wonder : prodigious

a : being a grave or serious matter <portentous decisions>

b : self-consciously solemn or important : pompous <portentous declamation unsalted by the least trace of humor — W. H. Pritchard>

c : ponderously excessive <that discipline's overwrought, portentous phrases — R. M. Coles>

— por·ten·tous·ly adverb

— por·ten·tous·ness noun

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First Known Use of PORTENTOUS

15th century

Related to PORTENTOUS

Synonyms: baleful, dire, direful, doomy, foreboding, ill, ill-boding, inauspicious, menacing, minatory, ominous, sinister, threatening

Antonyms: unthreatening

Synonym Discussion of PORTENTOUS

ominous, portentous, fateful mean having a menacing or threatening aspect. ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster <ominous rumblings from the volcano>. portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forewarning of calamity <an eerie and portentous stillness>. fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance <the fateful conference that led to war>.