presentiment

noun

pri-ˈzen-tə-mənt How to pronounce presentiment (audio)
Definition of presentimentnext
as in premonition
a feeling that something bad will happen a nagging presentiment of danger

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of presentiment That presentiment lies behind the many present expressions of apocalypse. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 Toni has been reluctant to let Amalie go out by herself—her bringing back a telescope seems to confirm some kind of fear, or presentiment. — Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024 The lavishness turns quickly into horror — Godwin gives us buckets of blood unasked for in the original — and then into a presentiment of Lear on the heath. — Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2020 Seen from behind, men and women bundled up in heavy coats are saturated with a mute presentiment, that of people beginning to endure. — Han Kang, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019 Those years, of course, marked respectively the peak of the frenzied optimism of the last business cycle and the first chilling presentiments of what was to come. — Gerard Baker, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presentiment
  1. premonition
  2. feel
  3. fear
  4. suspicion
  5. worry
  6. foreboding
Noun
  • But these were mere hints and premonitions of the kind of sway that humans now hold.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Last year, Vandermeer’s premonition came true in a very personal way.
    — Bernard Condon, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of premonition
Noun
  • The deep soaking tub and clear shower stall are set pieces in the room, creating a real open and airy feel.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The drums don’t get the lifelike feel from the buds' higher playback quality; cymbals in particular lack sizzle.
    — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of feel
Noun
  • Fortune recently reported on wealthy parents’ growing fear that their fortunes will sap their children’s drive.
    — Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Coupled with job-displacement fears from AI, opponents now point to the facilities as a physical symbol of who benefits from the boom and who gets stuck with the bill.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of fear
Noun
  • Given that the dynamic between Europe and Russia is now characterized by pervasive mutual suspicion, conspiracy theories, and expectations of war, there is a growing danger of inadvertent escalation.
    — Dmitry Adamsky, Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Anxiety and suspicion about robot infiltrators are everywhere — and so are people claiming to hunt the robots down.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of suspicion
Noun
  • Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • In an interview earlier this fall with NPR, Los Angeles County's top voting official, Dean Logan, alluded to those worries.
    — Miles Parks, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of worry
Noun
  • There were minor changes — more large spiders and other creepy critters were added to one foreboding tunnel — but also some substantial ones designed to increase the attraction’s capacity and reliability.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But this morning an air of foreboding awakened me, and my little fishing barometer was already descending past the 29 mark.
    — Gerald R. Hunter, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of foreboding

Browse Nearby Words

presented
presentiment
presentiments
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Cite this Entry

“Presentiment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presentiment. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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