portentous

Portentous is defined as causing awe or wonder.

(adjective)

An example of portentous is the opening gate of a brightly lit carnival.

Portentous means self-important.

(adjective)

An example of portentous is a professor’s lecture that is more about his own experiences than about teaching a subject.

The definition of portentous is having the feeling of evil or foreboding.

(adjective)

An example of portentus is the mood created by spooky music at a haunted house.

See portentous in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

Origin: L portentosus < portentum: see portent

Related Forms:

See portentous in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Of the nature of or constituting a portent; foreboding: “The present aspect of society is portentous of great change” (Edward Bellamy).
Full of unspecifiable significance; exciting wonder and awe: “Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity” (Herman Melville).
Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty.

Related Forms: