premonitory
1
9.8
- adjective
- /ˌprɛmənˈtɔri/
:
premonitorio
- He had a premonitory vision of a storm before it suddenly erupted over the city.
Examples
-
A man of science, he was perplexed by a premonitory dream he'd had about a train crash in Scotland.
Blog text (31) -
A premonitory fist clenched my heart the more I saw him.
Fiction book (1998) -
In this period, the wars, the destruction, and the sufferings of history were no longer the premonitory warnings of a transition from one age to another; rather, they were themselves the signs of that transition.
Academic text (1990) -
He couldn't escape the notion that it had been premonitory and that the possibility of death lay between him and a life of comfortable anonymity in America.
Fiction book (2001) -
Yet he felt an aching, premonitory sadness as the crisp linen settled across his shoulders; it was as though he were putting on a costume that would deceive only a fool, for a wise man would see at once that it did not suit him, that it must belong to some other man, an elegant, stylish young man, and that Francesco was an impostor in his own clothes.
Fiction book (2000) -
Eight years before the quake of Brexit, in his book explaining 'what's wrong with the European Union and how to fix it', Simon Hix made a premonitory remark: 'referendums are a crude and ineffectual mechanism for expressing citizens' preferences on EU policy issues.'
Academic text (2018) -
The sudden chill in the air gave her a premonitory feeling that something was wrong.
-
The dark clouds were a premonitory sign of the heavy rain that followed.
Synonyms
96
6.4
Makes you feel that something bad will happen
33
7.4
Saying or showing what will happen in the future, often as if from a spiritual source
16
8.9
Knowing about things before they happen
9
7.3
Making you feel that something bad will happen
4
8.6
A strong sign that something important or bad will happen
2
9.9
To know about an event before it happens
1
8.1
A sign that something bad may happen
1
9.1
Saying that something will happen in the future, often by a religious person
A sign that shows something will happen in the future
Suggests or shows what will happen later in a vague, symbolic way
Feeling that something will happen before it does
Antonyms
How Ominous
Surface Forms
Morphology
premonitory = monitory (semi-transparent) = pre + monit + ory
Formed by adding the productive prefix 'pre-' to 'monitory' (meaning 'warning'), but 'monitory' is relatively uncommon so learners may not always recognise the base.
Etymology
Premonitory comes from Latin parts pre- meaning 'before' and monere meaning 'to warn', the same root you see in monitor. So a premonitory sign or feeling is a warning that comes 'before' something happens.