portentiouslyadv.
/pɔːˈtɛnʃəsli/, U.S. /pɔrˈtɛn(t)ʃəsli/ 1. In a manner which portends or foreshadows something; ominously; = portentously adv. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [adverb] > inauspiciously
amissa1425
sinisterlyc1465
awkly1564
untowardly1569
portentously1596
sinistrously1607
ominously1611
inauspiciously1684
portentiously1804
askew1858
1804 J. Grahame Sabbath 332 Why pall'd in state, and mitred with a wreath Of nightshade, dost thou sit portentiously?
1831 A. Shiels Witch of Westcot iii. 93 An owl that moment whoo'd Portenteously amongst the wood.
1913 Lima (Ohio) Times-Democrat 16 Jan. 1/3 (headline) Troubles in labor world have never hovered over New York more portentiously.
1999 Tulsa (Oklahoma) World 19 Nov. (Movie section) The sun never shines, the locals are all pallid as ghosts and mysterious wisps of fog seep portentiously through the woods.
2. Grandiloquently; in a self-important or pretentious manner; = portentously adv. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > pomposity > [adverb]
biglya1475
pompously1573
pontifically1582
budgely1599
pompous1754
largely1857
burlily1863
portentously1892
portentiously1963
1963 Times 11 Apr. 10/5 Mr. Phizo's portentiously worded declaration (‘We, the Naga people, are calling for a truce’, it begins).
1975 Publishers Weekly 3 Mar. 64/2 Loving Ty whom she sees as somehow portentiously East Coast.
1997 Daily Tel. 14 May 27/2 The Bank..cannot ignore the possibility of tax rises, or changes in the fiscal stance as it is portentiously called.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adv.1804