forebode

verb

fore·​bode (ˌ)fȯr-ˈbōd How to pronounce forebode (audio)
variants or less commonly forbode
foreboded also forboded; foreboding also forboding; forebodes also forbodes
Synonyms of forebode

transitive verb

1
: to have an inward conviction of (something, such as a coming ill or misfortune)
… she looked eagerly in his face, not quick to forebode evil, but unavoidably conscious that the state of the family had changed …—Nathaniel Hawthorne
2
: foretell, portend
Such dark clouds forebode a storm.

intransitive verb

: augur, predict
foreboder noun

Synonyms of forebode

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Examples of forebode in a Sentence

the dry summer doesn't forebode well for the harvest
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Lowen must move into the Crawford family’s foreboding Vermont lake house to flirt with her husband sift through Verity’s notes and embody her voice. — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 6 Oct. 2026 Lowen heads up to the Crawford home in Vermont, which is a stunning, if not foreboding, contemporary house by Danish sculptor and designer Jens Quistgaard that’s pretty much hidden in woods. — Fawnia Soo Hoo, Allure, 5 Oct. 2026 There was no obvious precipitating event, but the encroachment of Grok seemed foreboding. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026 The windowless hallways are narrow in the federal building that houses this immigration court, and the agents’ stocky bodies are foreboding in the tight corridors. — Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for forebode

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of forebode was in 1603

Rhymes for forebode

See All Rhymes for forebode

Browse Nearby Words

foreboard
forebode
foreboder
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Cite this Entry

“Forebode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebode. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

forebode

verb
fore·​bode
variants also forbode
fōr-ˈbōd, 
fȯr-
1
: to have a feeling that something especially unfortunate is going to happen
2
: foretell, portend
the heavy air forebodes a storm
foreboder noun
foreboding
-ˈbōd-iŋ
noun
forebodingly
-iŋ-lē
adverb
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