as in premonition
a feeling that something bad will happen
a nagging presentiment of danger
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of presentiment
Toni has been reluctant to let Amalie go out by herself—her bringing back a telescope seems to confirm some kind of fear, or presentiment.
—
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
His presentiments had been right, but all those garlic pills and pulse recordings had done nothing to save him.
—Gillian Silverman, The New Yorker, 15 July 2023
The lavishness turns quickly into horror — Godwin gives us buckets of blood unasked for in the original — and then into a presentiment of Lear on the heath.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2020
Seen from behind, men and women bundled up in heavy coats are saturated with a mute presentiment, that of people beginning to endure.
—Han Kang, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
Those years, of course, marked respectively the peak of the frenzied optimism of the last business cycle and the first chilling presentiments of what was to come.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019
During the 1919 scenes she is occasionally stopped in her tracks by presentiments of what’s in store around the corner.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017
Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
His presentiments had been right, but all those garlic pills and pulse recordings had done nothing to save him.
—Gillian Silverman, The New Yorker, 15 July 2023
The lavishness turns quickly into horror — Godwin gives us buckets of blood unasked for in the original — and then into a presentiment of Lear on the heath.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2020
Seen from behind, men and women bundled up in heavy coats are saturated with a mute presentiment, that of people beginning to endure.
—Han Kang, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
Those years, of course, marked respectively the peak of the frenzied optimism of the last business cycle and the first chilling presentiments of what was to come.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019
During the 1919 scenes she is occasionally stopped in her tracks by presentiments of what’s in store around the corner.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presentiment
Noun
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The actor recurred as Father Lonigan, the blind priest who had premonitions of evil, in Passions during its nine-season run.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
9 Feb. 2025
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Rylance as Cromwell winces at the spectacle, a premonition of his own future.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The small-town feel grew on them even as their family grew larger to include two children, and their careers placed them on much bigger stages.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The travertine enhances safety without compromising aesthetics and gives the home a monastic feel, covering nearly every wall of the house.—
Emma Reynolds,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The spread of antivaccine misinformation in the previous year had caused fear and uncertainty, which kept many families from vaccinating their children against measles.—
Dr. Josh Green,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
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By the end of the month, the new moon in Taurus invites you to embrace more intimacy and transformation in your love life, even if that means facing your fears in the process.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The report concluded that the university administration had repeatedly failed to address the concerns of pro-Palestinian demonstrators and, instead, treated them with suspicion.—
Sharon Otterman,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2025
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And there’s no way the Hatches, with their matriarch’s suspicion of television generally, would have gotten a color TV.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Uncontrollable feelings of worry, unease, nervousness, and fear characterize anxiety disorders.—
Mark Gurarie,
Verywell Health,
3 Apr. 2025
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Inflation, tariff worries drive consumers' outlooks to lowest levels in 12 years What are tariffs?—
Bailey Schulz,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Even the objective comedy of this storyline is framed with foreboding, like the water gun fight.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
9 Mar. 2025
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Its reappearance on the American scene in the twenty-first century should be taken as a foreboding.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
4 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Presentiment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presentiment. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
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