The entire film is shot through with a sense of gravity and portent.
The composition of the committee turned out to be a portent of things to come.
Their arrival coincides with an earthquake, which shatters the city and offers an ominous portent for their mission.
It's not just a portent of things to come, scientists say, but a sign of troubling climate change already underway.
One encouraging portent is that more people are using the railway network.
To the superstitious and high-strung Athenians the event seemed a calamitous portent.
It is too soon to know whether the warm spell was a fluke or a portent, Nghiem said.
What is genuinely in doubt is whether that is but a burr in the two nations' broader relationship, or a portent.
So there's the obligatory prologue with a portent of danger.
He was entirely fearless, describing each new movement and phase of the portent to be noted down exactly as he observed them.
British Dictionary definitions for portent
portent
/ˈpɔːtɛnt/
noun
1.
a sign or indication of a future event, esp a momentous or calamitous one; omen
2.
momentous or ominous significance: a cry of dire portent
3.
a miraculous occurrence; marvel
Word Origin
C16: from Latin portentum sign, omen, from portendere to portend
Word Origin and History for portent
n.
1560s, from Middle French portente, from Latin portentum "a sign, token, omen; monster, monstrosity," noun use of neuter of portentus, past participle of portendre (see portend).