presage

1 of 2

noun

pres·age ˈpre-sij

also

pri-ˈsāj

Synonyms of presage next

: something that foreshadows or portends a future event : omen

: an intuition or feeling of what is going to happen in the future

archaic : prognostication

: warning or indication of the future

presageful

pri-ˈsāj-fəl

adjective

presage

2 of 2

verb

pre·sage ˈpre-sij

pri-ˈsāj

presaged; presaging

transitive verb

: to give an omen or warning of : foreshadow

: foretell, predict

intransitive verb

: to make or utter a prediction

presager noun obsolete

Did you know?

The verb presage was predated by a noun presage, meaning "omen." Both forms derive from the Latin prefix prae- combined with the adjective sagus, meaning "prophetic." Foretell, predict, forecast, prophesy, and presage all mean "to tell beforehand." Foretell applies to telling of a future event by any procedure or any source of information ("seers foretold the calamity"). Predict commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature ("astronomers predicted an eclipse"). Forecast implies anticipating eventualities and is usually concerned with probabilities ("the meteorologist forecasts snow"). Prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future ("the soothsayer prophesied a new messiah"). Presage may apply to suggesting a coming event or indicating its likelihood.

Example Sentences

Noun I had a nagging presage that the results of my medical tests would not be good. the sight of the first robin is always a welcome presage of spring Verb Many investors are worried that the current slowdown could presage another recession. events that presaged the civil rights movement

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But does the current bout of brightening presage Betelgeuse blowing its top? —

Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 15 May 2023 If anything, his campaign — a presage to Mr. Trump’s candidacy — served as a neon-sign warning to Democrats that bad behavior wasn’t a bar to entry in Republican politics anymore. —

Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2023 If not corrected, these near-death airline experiences and the near collapse of the U.S. commercial aviation system presage catastrophes to come. —

Victor Davis Hanson, Arkansas Online, 6 Mar. 2023 Does President Orlean’s violent death presage that life on the new planet is doomed? —

Kate Aurthur, Variety, 28 Dec. 2021 Later on, jagged orchestral accents punctuate clattering and pounding percussion parts, and big brassy climaxes presage ghostly slides in the violins. —

Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 18 Sep. 2021 Russian forces are positioned in a way that could allow presage training exercises or something worse, according to U.S. officials. —

Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 14 Apr. 2021 Whether the Hallaq demonstrations, the economic malaise in the Palestinian territories, and the looming prospect of annexation presage a wider upsurge in protest remains to be seen. —

Tareq Baconi, The New York Review of Books, 2 July 2020 Signs warning drivers to signal their presence with a honk presage two bends in the narrow pass, which is wide enough for about one and a half cars. —

Ben Brazil, latimes.com, 16 Feb. 2018

Verb

But guidance rolling out from the Biden administration — presaging formal rules — has raised alarm among energy companies that some of the credits might be difficult if not impossible to use, at least in the near term. —

Lydia Depillis, New York Times, 9 June 2023 In every other way, the test drive presaged vastly more pleasant workdays for truckers. —

Jonathon Ramsey, Car and Driver, 13 May 2023 Postpartum psychosis tends to come on suddenly, often within four to six weeks of childbirth, around the time of weaning, or following a period of extreme sleep deprivation; it is sometimes presaged by anxiety and insomnia. —

Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023 Floodwater from a breached levee on the Pajaro River in the Central Coast continued to spill over Highway 1 Monday, cutting off a vital route between Monterey and Santa Cruz, and possibly presaging another round of destructive weather arriving in force early Tuesday. —

Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Mar. 2023 Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was presaged by years of information operations, which used propaganda networks on social media to spread misinformation, influence elections, and undermine social cohesion. —

WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023 Her journalistic career took shape in a period more optimistic than our own, when the economic and social advances of the few seemed to presage those of the many. —

Kenneth W. MacK, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2022 Just as worrisome, poorer children have experienced terrible educational setbacks as schools moved online, presaging a potentially long-term aggravation of inequality and deprivation. —

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2022 Do Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua presage the dawn of human cloning? —

Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 1 Jan. 2019 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'presage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.