premonition

noun

pre·​mo·​ni·​tion ˌprē-mə-ˈni-shən How to pronounce premonition (audio) ˌpre- How to pronounce premonition (audio)
Synonyms of premonition
1
: previous notice or warning : forewarning
2
: anticipation of an event without conscious reason : presentiment

Synonyms of premonition

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of premonition in a Sentence

She had a premonition that he would call. she had a premonition that her cat would somehow get hurt that day
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.
Again, people have premonitions. — Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 4 May 2026 The actress previously recalled having a bizarre premonition before director Sam Pinkleton even called her about the role. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026 Peasants whisper about monsters in the forest, and in the interlude between the wars, Lajos gazes at a house that is burning down and has a premonition of the world-historical destruction to come. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026 New research shows Hinton’s premonitions about the insubordinate streak of AI may already be a reality. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for premonition

Word History

Etymology

Middle English premunition, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin premunition-, premunitio, alteration of Late Latin praemonitio, from Latin praemonēre to warn in advance, from prae- + monēre to warn — more at mind

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of premonition was in 1533

Rhymes for premonition

See All Rhymes for premonition

Browse Nearby Words

premonish
premonition
premonitor
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Premonition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/premonition. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

premonition

noun
pre·​mo·​ni·​tion ˌprē-mə-ˈnish-ən How to pronounce premonition (audio) ˌprem-ə- How to pronounce premonition (audio)
: a feeling that something is going to happen
a premonition of disaster
premonitory
pri-ˈmän-ə-ˌtōr-ē, 
-ˌtȯr-
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on premonition

Nglish: Translation of premonition for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All