presentiment
/pri'sentimənt/
Definition
- Noun:
- A vague, intuitive feeling or sense that something, typically something negative or unfortunate, is about to happen in the future; a premonition, especially of impending evil or misfortune.
Usage
- A presentiment is an uncanny feeling that foreshadows a future event, often without any logical or conscious basis. It is typically used in formal or literary contexts to describe a deep, unsettling sense of anticipation.
- It is commonly followed by the preposition "of" (e.g., a presentiment danger) or a "that" clause (e.g., a presentiment something bad would happen).
Examples
- She had a strange presentiment of disaster as she boarded the plane.
- Despite the sunny weather, he was filled with a gloomy presentiment.
- I awoke with a presentiment that I would receive bad news today.
Advanced Usage
- "To have a presentiment about something": To possess a foreboding feeling regarding a specific situation.
- He had a presentiment about the business deal, which is why he withdrew.
- "A growing/persistent presentiment": A premonition that intensifies or does not go away.
- A persistent presentiment of loss haunted her throughout the journey.
Variants and Related Words
- Presentimental (adjective, rare): Relating to or having the nature of a presentiment.
- His presentimental dreams often disturbed him.
Synonyms
- Premonition: A strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant.
- Foreboding: A feeling that something bad will happen; fearful apprehension.
- Intuition: The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.
- Hunch: An intuitive feeling or a suspicion.
Antonyms
- Afterthought: An idea or response that occurs after the event.
- Certainty: Firm conviction that something is the case; the quality of being reliably true.
- Retrospection: The action of looking back on or reviewing past events.
Idioms and Phrases
- "A presentiment of doom": A very strong feeling that a catastrophic event is imminent.
- As the storm clouds gathered, a presentiment of doom settled over the village.
Noun
-
a feeling of evil to come
-
a steadily escalating sense of foreboding
-
the lawyer had a presentiment that the judge would dismiss the case
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