Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2023 is: portentous \por-TEN-tuss\ adjective

Portentous is a formal and literary term that describes something that gives a sign or warning that something (and usually something bad or unpleasant) is going to happen. It can also describe the [pompous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pompous) attitude or behavior of someone who is trying to seem important, serious, or impressive.

// Edgar Allan Poe’s stories are filled with portentous foreshadowing.

// The author's portentous speech was long and tedious and peppered with anecdotes about brushes with fame.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portentous)

Examples:

“Let me begin with the rainstorm. My Much Better Half and I are having our kitchen and downstairs guest bathroom remodeled. ‘Don’t expect smooth sailing,’ we were forewarned. This proved a portentous metaphor because returning from my daily run I opened the front door and found myself in need of a boat. While I was out, a worker clogged and broke the toilet … and it runneth over continuously for an hour or more.” — Woody Woodburn, Ventura County (California) Star, 11 Aug. 2023

Did you know?

“If it wasn’t for bad luck / You know I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” So sang [Albert King](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-King) on the 1967 song “Born Under a Bad Sign,” written by Booker T. Jones (of [Booker T. and the MG’s](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Booker-T-and-the-MGs)) and [soul](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul) singer William Bell. He may have been singing about the ominous [portent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portent) of being born during an unfavorable astrological alignment, but the classic tune became a standard of the blues. Portents are also at the heart of the adjective portentous, which describes things forewarning future events—usually events of the bad luck variety. Both portent and portentous come from the Latin noun portentum, meaning “omen or sign.” Since entering English in the 15th century, portentous has picked up additional senses, including “grave, solemn, significant” (as in “burdened with making portentous decisions”), which was added to our dictionary in 1934. It’s more recently moved into less estimable semantic territory, describing both the pompous and the excessive.