portentous

/pɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛntəs/

//pɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛntəs// adj

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

"portentous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“portentous” is uncommon English (frequency #80,768 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,768
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of momentous or ominous significance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-portentous · portentous · English

portentous · rank #80,768 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,768
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH portend

Nearest frequency peer: portend (-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 “portentous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for portentous
PropertyValue
Headwordportentous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛntəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#80,768
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “portentous” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).portentousfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “portend” (#80,767), “Porth” (#80,769), “polyamide” (#80,765). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “portentous” is #80,768. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

portentous is uncommon English at frequency #80,768 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /pɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛntəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for portentous, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Of multiple origins: * Borrowed from Latin portentōsus, from portentus (“predicted”) + -ōsus. Compare earlier portentuous (via Middle English from Latin portentuōsus). By surface analysis, portent + -ous. * Borrowed from French portentueux The correct English form is portentous, spelled P-O-R-T-E-N-T-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of momentous or ominous significance.
  2. 2
    Ominously prophetic.
  3. 3
    Puffed up with vanity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Well may it sort [be fitting] that this portentous figure comes armed through our watch, so like the King that was and is the question of these wars.
  2. It is no longer in my possession, but my memory holds almost every word of its portentous message; and again I affirm my confidence in the sanity of the man who wrote it.

Etymology

Of multiple origins: * Borrowed from Latin portentōsus, from portentus (“predicted”) + -ōsus. Compare earlier portentuous (via Middle English from Latin portentuōsus). By surface analysis, portent + -ous. * Borrowed from French portentueux

Synonyms

fatefulpropheticsignificant

Antonyms

humbleinsignificanttrivialunremarkable

This word in other languages

portentoso(Español)bedeutungsschwer(Deutsch)

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 "portentous"?
"portentous" is spelled P-O-R-T-E-N-T-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛntəs/.
What does "portentous" mean?
As an adjective, "portentous" means: Of momentous or ominous significance.
How do you pronounce "portentous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "portentous" is /pɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛntəs/. 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 "portentous"?
Of multiple origins: * Borrowed from Latin portentōsus, from portentus (“predicted”) + -ōsus. Compare earlier portentuous (via Middle English from Latin portentuōsus). By surface analysis, portent + -ous. * Borrowed from French portentueux 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 "portentous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

poliovirus#80,764prettiness#80,775pugnacious#80,782perplexity#80,752

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list