portentous

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>portentous</strong> &#149; \por-TEN-tuss\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Portentous</em> 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 <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pompous">pompous</a> attitude or behavior of someone who is trying to seem important, serious, or impressive.</p> <p>// Edgar Allen Poe’s stories are filled with <em>portentous</em> foreshadowing. </p> <p>// The author's <em>portentous</em> speech was long and tedious and peppered with anecdotes about brushes with fame.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portentous">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“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 <em>portentous</em> 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, <em>Ventura County (California) Star</em>, 11 Aug. 2023 </p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>“If it wasn’t for bad luck / You know I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” So sang <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-King">Albert King</a> on the 1967 song “Born Under a Bad Sign,” written by Booker T. Jones (of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Booker-T-and-the-MGs">Booker T. and the MG’s</a>) and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul">soul</a> singer William Bell. He may have been singing about the ominous <a hr