portend

/pɔːˈtɛnd/

//pɔːˈtɛnd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"portend" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“portend” is uncommon English (frequency #80,767 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,767
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To serve as a warning or omen of.

Corpus desk

Index EN-portend · portend · English

portend · rank #80,767 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,767
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH portentous

Nearest frequency peer: portentous (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “portend”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “portend” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for portend
PropertyValue
Headwordportend
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɔːˈtɛnd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#80,767
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “portend” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).portendfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “portentous” (#80,768), “polyamide” (#80,765), “Porth” (#80,769). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “portend” is #80,767. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

portend is uncommon English at frequency #80,767 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /pɔːˈtɛnd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for portend, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin portendere (“to foretell”), from por- (“forward”) + tendere (“to stretch”). The correct English form is portend, spelled P-O-R-T-E-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To serve as a warning or omen of.
  2. 2
    To signify; to denote.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how portend appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A kingdom they portend thee, but what kingdom, / Real or allegoric, I discern not; Nor when: eternal sure--as without end,
  2. Let it be known that the Rapture portends the End of Days.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin portendere (“to foretell”), from por- (“forward”) + tendere (“to stretch”).

Synonyms

foreshadowpresage

This word in other languages

significar(Español)annoncer(Français)ankündigen(Deutsch)pressagiar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "portend"?
"portend" is spelled P-O-R-T-E-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /pɔːˈtɛnd/.
What does "portend" mean?
As a verb, "portend" means: To serve as a warning or omen of.
How do you pronounce "portend"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "portend" is /pɔːˈtɛnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "portend"?
Borrowed from Latin portendere (“to foretell”), from por- (“forward”) + tendere (“to stretch”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "portend", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

plunket#80,762praline#80,772plumper#80,761recency#80,799

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list