Forbodes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To indicate or predict an event, often one that is viewed negatively or ominously
2. To serve as a warning or sign of something adverse that may occur in the future
3. To suggest an impending outcome, particularly one that carries a sense of foreboding or misfortune

Etymology: "Forbodes" is simply the third-person singular present of "forbode," so the real story belongs to the verb itself. The surprising twist is that "forbode" and "forbid" are the same word at root. Both descend from an Old English noun, "forbod," meaning "a forbidding, prohibition," which was built from "for-" (a prefix meaning "against" or "away") and a base related to "bid" in its older sense of "command." Its Germanic relatives, such as Dutch "verbod," German "Verbot," and Danish "forbud," still mean "prohibition" today. Somewhere in the Middle English period, the prohibition sense gave way to a sense of warning. A forbidding is, in effect, a refusal to let something happen, so the word drifted toward announcing that something bad was coming and could not be prevented. That is the meaning we use now: a dark cloud forebodes rain, or an ominous silence forebodes trouble.

Synonyms: predicts, foretells, augurs

Antonyms: assures, guarantees