Presage: meaning, example and synonyms
Presagev. To be a sign or warning that something, often bad, will happen.
Example
Historians argue that the scattered strikes of the early decade presaged the broader labor unrest that later swept the region's mills.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Synonyms
- foreshadow, portend, herald, signal
- Antonyms
- –
- Memory tip
- pre (before) + sage (perceive): it signals an event before it arrives.
Presage is in batch 7. Study it with the rest of the batch, then pass the batch quiz to learn it. No account needed; progress is saved on this device.
Check yourself: Presage in context
The faint tremors recorded in the weeks before the eruption may have ______ the disaster, though at the time few scientists recognized them as warnings.
Answer: presaged. Tremors that came before the eruption and served as warnings foreshadowed it. Vacated, vacillated and convened don't mean to signal a future event.
In many cultures, the early departure of migratory birds was thought to ______ a harsh winter, a belief that modern ornithologists have found partly justified.
Answer: presage. The birds' departure was read as a sign of the coming winter. Augment, vacate and convene don't mean to foretell.