While I often have my personal favorites in terms of strange and fun words to use in literature as well as daily use, one of my favorite things about reading a book is finding new words to add to that repertoire. Sometimes, those new words simply don't fit into my daily life, so I can't always come up with scenarios that fit the word I want to use. That's certainly the case with today's word, so instead, I'm going to look at something a little different.
Portentous | pȯr-ˈten-təs: adjective: 1) of, relating to, or constituting a portent; 2) eliciting amazement or wonder: prodigious; 3A) being a grave or serious matter, B) self-consciously solemn or important: pompous, C) ponderously excessive
I felt that, for today's dive-in, we needed all of the definitions from Merriam-Webster, which often seems more thorough than Cambridge when it comes to full definitions. First, I'd like to point out that portentous can actually refer to a great many things, not just the first definition, which is simply a form of foreshadowing - the use that will be pulled from today's read, Sun Warrior.
In fact, when I read the word out to my husband, he asked me if I had meant pretentious. So, diving into that one, I noticed some similarities that could easily create confusion between the two words. Let's pull up the Cambridge Dictionary next and quote both the entries for portentous and pretentious.
Portentous | pɔːrˈten.t̬əs: adjective: too serious and trying to be very important
Pretentious | prɪˈten.ʃəs: adjective: trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature
In definitions like these, I could see a reader easily become confused. Why have two words that essentially mean the same thing? Someone could be acting portentous to be pretentious, or they're just pretentious; thus, there's really no point in adding portentous to a sentence at all.
That is why I often have a personal preference in the wide array of definitions I find in Merriam-Webster. That being said, the wording of the Cambridge Dictionary does add quality to the meaning they did go with better than the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and it adds a flare to the idea of using portentous that otherwise wouldn't have been there.
Of course, as I stated, the book from which I got this word uses it in reference to the first definition from Merriam-Webster, as a form of foreshadowing. Almost like a prophetic feeling.
A portentous shiver skittered down his spine and Dead Eye looked behind him and up.
In what ways could you find a use for the word, portentous? Do you think you would ever use it in the place of pretentious? If so, how? I'd love to know your thoughts and ideas as well as any new words you could come up with for Word of the Day. Until tomorrow, happy reading!
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