英语词汇“portentous”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

adj

The black crows slowly circling the front entrance to your office building at 6:00 am may have a portentous quality, meaning it seems like they’re an omen indicating something bad will happen.

Use the adjective portentous to describe something that seems be a sign related to a future event — generally an ominous sign. Something that is portentous often seems to hint at or warn of a future disaster. For example, in a movie ominous music playing in the background while someone turns a dark corner can have a portentous quality, predicting doom for the hapless character.

CHOOSE YOUR WORDS

pretentious / portentous

Fake mobsters in suits and spats are pretentious. But a horse head in your bed? That's portentous. And also, call the police.

A regular person who insists on using the royal "we" is pretentious. Find the word "pretend" in pretentious and you're onto something — both words come from the same Latin root. Pretending is fun, but anything pretentious is a bummer because it's fanciful and untrue. Examples:

"Eva's colleagues eventually turn on her and deem her uppity and pretentious; one day, someone in the office steals the diary." (The New Yorker)

"Well, the film was a bore, with far too many pretentious slow-motion surfing shots or close-ups of foam and bubbles." (Los Angeles Times)

Portentous is darker. The word comes from the Latin portentosus for "marvelous, threatening," oh, and also "monster." A funnel cloud, a horse head, or a letter from an ex, are all portentoussigns. It overlaps with pretentious because portentous also describes someone trying hard to seem important, like a human pufferfish. But it's usually a sign of things to come, like a portent, or omen. Observe:

"But above them all looms one legendary beast: the great white whale, Moby-Dick, freighted with portentous doom." (The Guardian)

"Some are table-centered domestic scenes: silent intimacies, fights over a portentous envelope." (The New Yorker)

If you get them mixed up, remember that pretentious has an "i" at the end, and portentous has an "o" for "omen."

WORD FAMILY

portentous: portentously+/portent: portentous, portents

USAGE EXAMPLES

Newspaper endorsements, those most portentous of journalistic institutions, also seemed to have little purchase on the outcome of this convention-shattering election.

The Guardian(Nov 22, 2016)

It’s no wonder that this fantasy — with its cheery enchantments and portentous inky swirls, its steely grays and tight pacing — feels familiar.

New York Times(Nov 17, 2016)

That said, this country finds itself facing an electoral decision starker and more portentous than any in modern memory.

Seattle Times(Nov 06, 2016)

1adj of momentous or ominous significance

"such a portentous...monster raised all my curiosity"- Herman Melville

Syn

prodigious
important, significant

important in effect or meaning

2adj ominously prophetic

Syn

fateful, foreboding
prophetic, prophetical

foretelling events as if by supernatural intervention

3adj puffed up with vanity

Syn

grandiloquent, overblown, pompous, pontifical
pretentious

making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction

单词	portentous
释义	portentous (once / 2247 pages) adj The black crows slowly circling the front entrance to your office building at 6:00 am may have a portentous quality, meaning it seems like they’re an omen indicating something bad will happen. Use the adjective portentous to describe something that seems be a sign related to a future event — generally an ominous sign. Something that is portentous often seems to hint at or warn of a future disaster. For example, in a movie ominous music playing in the background while someone turns a dark corner can have a portentous quality, predicting doom for the hapless character. CHOOSE YOUR WORDS pretentious / portentous Fake mobsters in suits and spats are pretentious. But a horse head in your bed? That's portentous. And also, call the police. A regular person who insists on using the royal "we" is pretentious. Find the word "pretend" in pretentious and you're onto something — both words come from the same Latin root. Pretending is fun, but anything pretentious is a bummer because it's fanciful and untrue. Examples: "Eva's colleagues eventually turn on her and deem her uppity and pretentious; one day, someone in the office steals the diary." (The New Yorker) "Well, the film was a bore, with far too many pretentious slow-motion surfing shots or close-ups of foam and bubbles." (Los Angeles Times) Portentous is darker. The word comes from the Latin portentosus for "marvelous, threatening," oh, and also "monster." A funnel cloud, a horse head, or a letter from an ex, are all portentoussigns. It overlaps with pretentious because portentous also describes someone trying hard to seem important, like a human pufferfish. But it's usually a sign of things to come, like a portent, or omen. Observe: "But above them all looms one legendary beast: the great white whale, Moby-Dick, freighted with portentous doom." (The Guardian) "Some are table-centered domestic scenes: silent intimacies, fights over a portentous envelope." (The New Yorker) If you get them mixed up, remember that pretentious has an "i" at the end, and portentous has an "o" for "omen." WORD FAMILY portentous: portentously+/portent: portentous, portents USAGE EXAMPLES Newspaper endorsements, those most portentous of journalistic institutions, also seemed to have little purchase on the outcome of this convention-shattering election. The Guardian(Nov 22, 2016) It’s no wonder that this fantasy — with its cheery enchantments and portentous inky swirls, its steely grays and tight pacing — feels familiar. New York Times(Nov 17, 2016) That said, this country finds itself facing an electoral decision starker and more portentous than any in modern memory. Seattle Times(Nov 06, 2016) 1adj of momentous or ominous significance "such a portentous...monster raised all my curiosity"- Herman Melville Syn prodigious important, significant important in effect or meaning 2adj ominously prophetic Syn fateful, foreboding prophetic, prophetical foretelling events as if by supernatural intervention 3adj puffed up with vanity Syn grandiloquent, overblown, pompous, pontifical pretentious making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction
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