definition of portents
portent. n. 1. a sign or indication of a future event, esp a momentous or calamitous one; omen. 2. momentous or ominous significance: a cry of dire portent. 3. a miraculous occurrence; marvel. [C16: from Latin portentum sign, omen, from portendere to portend].
portent. A phenomenon that serves as a sign or warning of some future good or evil: augury, forerunner, foretoken, omen, prefigurement, presage, prognostic, prognostication, sign. Idiom: writing on the wall.