foreboding

[fawr-boh-ding, fohr-] /fɔrˈboʊ dɪŋ, foʊr-/
noun
1.
a prediction; portent.
2.
a strong inner feeling or notion of a future misfortune, evil, etc.; presentiment.
adjective
3.
that forebodes, especially evil.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English forbodyng (noun); see forebode, -ing1, -ing2
Related forms
forebodingly, adverb
forebodingness, noun
unforeboding, adjective
Can be confused
forbidding, foreboding.

forebode

[fawr-bohd, fohr-] /fɔrˈboʊd, foʊr-/
verb (used with object), foreboded, foreboding.
1.
to foretell or predict; be an omen of; indicate beforehand; portend:
clouds that forebode a storm.
2.
to have a strong inner feeling or notion of (a future misfortune, evil, catastrophe, etc.); have a presentiment of.
verb (used without object), foreboded, foreboding.
3.
to prophesy.
4.
to have a presentiment.
Origin
1595-1605; fore- + bode
Related forms
foreboder, noun
unforeboded, adjective
Can be confused
forbade, forbid, forbidden, forebode (see synonym study at forbid)
Synonyms
1. foreshadow, presage, forecast, augur.
Examples from the web for foreboding
  • Still no obvious symptoms that perforation is imminent, but an oppressive feeling of foreboding hangs over me.
  • The official tone of ominous foreboding had been established.
  • Amid rising insecurity and uncertainty there is fear and a sense of foreboding.
  • That's because the game excels at creating a deep sense of foreboding.
  • The sense of foreboding, of brooding melancholy, is all the more powerful for being tied to no particular event.
  • The crowding of the figures and the disembodied heads of the cherubim contribute an unsettling sense of foreboding.
  • Swamps can often be unfamiliar, foreboding places, this program allows the students the opportunity to explore this vital habitat.
  • It was, according to critical contemporary appraisal, a grim and foreboding structure.
  • Some clouds are pretty, others are dull, and some are foreboding.
  • In addition to epidemic levels of morbidity and mortality, three factors were especially foreboding.
British Dictionary definitions for foreboding

foreboding

/fɔːˈbəʊdɪŋ/
noun
1.
a feeling of impending evil, disaster, etc
2.
an omen or portent
adjective
3.
presaging something
Derived Forms
forebodingly, adverb
forebodingness, noun

forebode

/fɔːˈbəʊd/
verb
1.
to warn of or indicate (an event, result, etc) in advance
2.
to have an intuition or premonition of (an event)
Derived Forms
foreboder, noun
Word Origin and History for foreboding
n.

late 14c., "a predilection, portent, omen," from fore- + verbal noun from bode. Meaning "sense of something bad about to happen" is from c.1600. Old English forebodung meant "prophecy."

forebode

v.

"feel a secret premonition," c.1600, from fore- + bode. Related: Foreboded; foreboding. Old English forebodian meant "to announce, declare."