Question

portentous adjective At the heart of portentous is portent, a word for an omen or sign, which comes to us from the Latin noun portentum of the same meaning. And indeed, the first uses of portentous did refer to omens. The second sense of portentous, describing that which is extremely impressive, developed in the 16th century. A third definition—"grave, solemn, significant"—was then added to the second edition of Webster's New International Dictionary in 1934. The word's connotations, however, have since moved into less estimable territory. It now frequently describes both the pompous and the excessive. 1 : of, relating to, or constituting a portent2 : eliciting amazement or wonder : prodigious3 a : being a grave or serious matter b : self-consciously solemn or important : pompousc : ponderously excessive

Accepted Answer

September 17, 2017 por-TEN-tuss Our host had a habit of making portentous proclamations about the state of modern art, which was a bit of a turnoff for us as two art majors."[Glen Campbell] briefly joined the instrumental rock group the Champs, who'd had some success, in 1958, with 'Tequila,' still one of the best encapsulations of the portentous elation brought on by ice-cold margaritas." — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2017

Word	portentous
Date	September 17, 2017
Type	adjective
Syllables	por-TEN-tuss
Etymology	At the heart of portentous is portent, a word for an omen or sign, which comes to us from the Latin noun portentum of the same meaning. And indeed, the first uses of portentous did refer to omens. The second sense of portentous, describing that which is extremely impressive, developed in the 16th century. A third definition—"grave, solemn, significant"—was then added to the second edition of Webster's New International Dictionary in 1934. The word's connotations, however, have since moved into less estimable territory. It now frequently describes both the pompous and the excessive.
Examples	Our host had a habit of making portentous proclamations about the state of modern art, which was a bit of a turnoff for us as two art majors. "[Glen Campbell] briefly joined the instrumental rock group the Champs, who'd had some success, in 1958, with 'Tequila,' still one of the best encapsulations of the portentous elation brought on by ice-cold margaritas." — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2017
Definition	1 : of, relating to, or constituting a portent 2 : eliciting amazement or wonder : prodigious 3 a : being a grave or serious matter b : self-consciously solemn or important : pompous c : ponderously excessive

Portentous September Adjective Por Ten Tuss Heart Portent Word Omen