portentous


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por·ten·tous

(pôr-tĕn′təs)
adj.
1. Of the nature of or constituting a portent; foreboding: "The present aspect of society is portentous of great change" (Edward Bellamy).
2. Full of unspecifiable significance; exciting wonder and awe: "Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity" (Herman Melville).
3. Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty.
por·ten′tous·ly adv.
por·ten′tous·ness n.
Usage Note: The last syllable of portentous is properly pronounced (-təs). However, under the influence of words like contentious and pretentious, sometimes this word is pronounced (pôr-tĕn′shəs), as though it were spelled portentious. Both the (-shəs) pronunciation and the spelling with the i (which is occasionally seen in print) are widely considered to be mistakes.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

portentous

(pɔːˈtɛntəs)
adj
1. of momentous or ominous significance
2. miraculous, amazing, or awe-inspiring; prodigious
3. self-important or pompous
porˈtentously adv
porˈtentousness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

por•ten•tous

(pɔrˈtɛn təs, poʊr-)

adj.
1. of the nature of a portent; momentous.
2. ominously significant or indicative: a portentous defeat.
3. solemnly self-important; pompous.
4. marvelous; amazing; prodigious.
[1530–40; < Latin portentōsus. See portent, -ous]
por•ten′tous•ly, adv.
por•ten′tous•ness, n.
syn: See ominous.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj. 1. portentous - of momentous or ominous significance; "such a portentous...monster raised all my curiosity"- Herman Melville; "a prodigious vision"
significant, important - important in effect or meaning; "a significant change in tax laws"; "a significant change in the Constitution"; "a significant contribution"; "significant details"; "statistically significant"
2. portentous - ominously prophetic
prophetic, prophetical - foretelling events as if by supernatural intervention; "prophetic writings"; "prophetic powers"; "words that proved prophetic"
3. portentous - puffed up with vanity; "a grandiloquent and boastful manner"; "overblown oratory"; "a pompous speech"; "pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and pontifical hooey"- Newsweek
pretentious - making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction; "a pretentious country house"; "a pretentious fraud"; "a pretentious scholarly edition"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

portentous

adjective
1. pompous, solemn, ponderous, self-important, pontifical There was nothing portentous or solemn about him.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

portentous

adjective
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

portentous

[pɔːˈtentəs] ADJ
1. (= ominous, prodigious) → portentoso
2. (= pompous) → pomposo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

portentous

adj
(= ominous) → unheilschwanger
(= grave) → gewichtig ; (= pompous) → bombastisch
(= marvellous) → gewaltig
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

portentous

[pɔːˈtɛntəs] adj (frm) (ominous) → funesto/a; (grave) → solenne, grave ; (pompous) → pomposo/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
The appeal was evidently addressed to the Lord Chancellor, who instantly replied, in a shrill monotone, like a little boy repeating the alphabet, "As I was remarking, your Sub-Excellency, this portentous movement--"
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Obviously the measurements of a single angle would no longer be sufficient under such portentous circumstances; one's whole life would be taken up in feeling or surveying the perimeter of one's acquaintances.
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The respectability of the party was portentous. The women were too nice to be well dressed, and too sure of their position to be amusing.
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But come out now, and look at this portentous lower jaw, which seems like the long narrow lid of an immense snuff-box, with a hinge at one end, instead of one side.
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Was it not the most portentous symbol of modern history?
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Because from such arms conquests come but slowly, long delayed and inconsiderable, but the losses sudden and portentous.
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The lieutenant, returning from a tour after a bandage, produced from a hidden receptacle of his mind new and portentous oaths suited to the emergency.
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The fact is, that soon after my arrival at the cottage there had occurred to myself an incident so entirely inexplicable, and which had in it so much of the portentous character, that I might well have been excused for regarding it as an omen.
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His hands, large and coarse, were plentifully bedecked with rings; and he wore a heavy gold watch-chain, with a bundle of seals of portentous size, and a great variety of colors, attached to it,--which, in the ardor of conversation, he was in the habit of flourishing and jingling with evident satisfaction.
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To one who loves the Florence of Dante and Savonarola there is something portentous in such desecration-- portentous and humiliating."
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Her subordinates so far complied, as to withdraw their hands from the locks, though the threatening barrels still maintained the portentous levels.
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Davis gave a portentous "Hem!" and said, in his most impressive manner...
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