In a sentence
Six example sentences with portend, each labelled with its topic.
An inverted yield curve has often portended a downturn, arriving a year or so before the layoffs begin.
Finance
Roman generals read a comet as portending disaster and delayed the campaign until the sky looked ordinary again.
History
Three dry winters in a row portend a hard summer, and reservoir managers start rationing long before anyone complains.
Environment
Swelling around the ankles can portend heart trouble months ahead, so the nurse checks them at every visit.
Medicine
The preseason injuries seemed to portend a long year, and by February the team was already out of playoff contention.
Basketball
A lost by-election in a safe seat often portends a change of government, and the party's strategists knew it.
Politics
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Found in these word lists
Found in 4 published word listsRecognized
Each source is a published word list that contains portend. No exam board publishes an official GRE, GMAT or SAT list; GMAT words come from GRE lists and the Academic Word List.