portentousness
- noun
- /pɔrˈtɛntəsnəs/
- Formal
:
portentoso
- The portentousness of the dark clouds made everyone anxious.
Examples
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The film's music added to the portentousness of the final scene.
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There was a certain portentousness in her voice as she announced the news.
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The portentousness of the dark clouds made everyone hurry indoors.
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The portentousness of the situation was not lost on the team.
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The film's slow pacing and dramatic music added to its overall portentousness, hinting that something significant was about to unfold.
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The dark clouds and distant thunder were a clear sign of the portentousness in the air, suggesting a storm was imminent.
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His speech was filled with an air of portentousness, making the audience feel that what he was about to say was critically important.
Synonyms
1
8.9
A feeling that something bad will happen
A sign that something is likely to fail
Antonyms
How Ominous
Surface Forms
Morphology
portentousness = portentous (transparent) = portent + ous + ness
Formed by adding '-ness' to the adjective 'portentous', which itself transparently derives from 'portent' + '-ous' to mean 'ominous'.
Etymology
Portentousness comes from the root portent, which means 'a sign' or 'warning' that something important or often bad is coming. So, portentousness is the quality of making people expect that something serious or strange will happen.