- an intimation or warning of something about to happen; portent; omen
- a sense of what is about to happen; foreboding
- (transitive) to have a presentiment of
- (transitive) to give a forewarning of; portend
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pres•age /ˈprɛsɪdʒ, prɪˈseɪdʒ/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object], -aged, -ag•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to be a sign or warning of;
portend;
foreshadow:Those terrorist incidents may presage war.
pres•age
(n. pres′ij;v. pres′ij, pri sāj′),USA pronunciation n., v., -aged, -ag•ing.
n.
v.t.
v.i.
pres′age•ful, adj.
pres′age•ful•ly, adv.
pres′ag•er, n.
n.
- a presentiment or foreboding.
- something that portends or foreshadows a future event;
an omen, prognostic, or warning indication. - prophetic significance;
augury. - foresight;
prescience. - [Archaic.]a forecast or prediction.
v.t.
- to have a presentiment of.
- to portend, foreshow, or foreshadow:The incidents may presage war.
- to forecast;
predict.
v.i.
- to make a prediction.
- [Archaic.]to have a presentiment.
- Latin praesāgium presentiment, forewarning, equivalent. to praesāg(us) having a foreboding (prae- pre- + sāgus prophetic; compare sagacious) + -ium -ium
- Middle French presage
- Middle English (noun, nominal) 1350–1400
pres′age•ful•ly, adv.
pres′ag•er, n.
- 1. foreshadowing, indication, premonition. 2. portent, sign, token.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
presage n /ˈprɛsɪdʒ/
'presage' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
announce
- augur
- bode
- deathwatch
- fey
- foreshadow
- forebode
- foretell
- omen
- portend
- predict
- preindicate
- prognosticate
- warning
- seek