presentiment

[ pri-zen-tuh-muhnt ]
See synonyms for presentiment on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a feeling or impression that something is about to happen, especially something evil; foreboding.

Origin of presentiment

1
1705–15; <French, now obsolete spelling of pressentiment.See pre-, sentiment

Other words from presentiment

  • pre·sen·ti·ment·al, adjective

Words Nearby presentiment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use presentiment in a sentence

  • He did not take his new work seriously, although he had no presentiment of his future destiny.

  • Then, with a swift, nervous presentiment, he turned quickly around towards the man who had been standing in the shadows.

    The Double Four | E. Phillips Oppenheim
  • He was running and making much noise, and I had a presentiment that something very evil had happened.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • Whence comes this species of secret presentiment which is never wrong in its appreciation?

    The Border Rifles | Gustave Aimard
  • Even I had no presentiment,' added Anna with a bitter smile, as though reproaching herself for it.

British Dictionary definitions for presentiment

presentiment

/ (prɪˈzɛntɪmənt) /


noun
  1. a sense of something about to happen; premonition

Origin of presentiment

1
C18: from obsolete French, from pressentir to sense beforehand; see pre-, sentiment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012