presentiment

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "presentiment" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to a feeling, either conscious or subconscious, that something is going to happen, especially something bad. For example, "He had a presentiment that something unfortunate was about to occur."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

55 human-written examples

In his latest book, Richard Overy, a distinguished British historian of the second world war, has turned his attention to the period between the wars when, he argues, the presentiment of impending disaster was even more deeply felt (and perhaps with better reason) than it is today.

The Economist

Ruth reveals herself to be a damaged woman with terminal self-obsession, and Chanter accords her a first-person narrative of sombre presentiment: "One summer was all it took before our dream started to curl at the edges and stain like picked primroses.

Independent

Why did all of this come to me as a presentiment?

The New Yorker

In the grocery store, listening to the same talk over and over, I began to feel a superstitious fear, the presentiment that in these endless discussions something awful was being hatched.

The New Yorker

"What time did that happen?" I asked, with a disturbing presentiment.

The New Yorker

A presentiment is primarily a mental experience of time: it is time experienced circularly, in its movement toward the future, and back to the present.

The New Yorker

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

5 human-written examples

It might be thought that such intimations and presentiments as these have little to do with the social sciences.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Certain lines we read, and reread, are like captions to the city — presentiments engraved into the asphalt.

The New Yorker

He did not have any headaches that day, or dark presentiments.

The New Yorker

I hope it's age rather than presentiments.

The New Yorker

Presentiments like this come early and often in Peter Behrens's otherwise impressive new novel, "The O'Briens," which follows four generations of an Irish family from the wilds of Quebec at the turn of the 20th century through British Columbia, California, New York, Montreal, Europe and finally to Maine in the 1960s.

The New York Times - Books

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Pair the noun with evocative adjectives like "chilling", "dim", "sombre" or "eerie" to enhance the atmospheric quality of the sentence.

Common error

Do not confuse "presentiment" with "sentiment". While "sentiment" refers to a general feeling or opinion about something existing or past, "presentiment" specifically refers to a feeling about a future event before it happens.

Linguistic Context

As a noun, "presentiment" functions as an abstract object representing an internal psychological state. In the examples provided by Ludwig, it often serves as the direct object of the verb "have" or "feel", or as the head of a prepositional phrase describing a character's mental landscape.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

85%

Encyclopedias

8%

Science

7%

Less common in

Social Media

2%

Wiki

3%

Reference

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The word "presentiment" is a powerful linguistic tool for describing the unshakeable feeling that an event—usually a significant or disastrous one—is looming on the horizon. According to Ludwig, the term is most at home in high-quality journalism and literature, where it adds a layer of psychological depth to descriptions of fear or destiny. Unlike a simple guess, a "presentiment" implies a deep-seated, often inexplicable internal certainty. While it is technically neutral, writers almost exclusively use it to signal an impending crisis, making it a key term for setting a sombre or suspenseful tone. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness in formal writing and highlights its effectiveness when paired with descriptors of death, catastrophe or change.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

premonition

More common in general usage and can refer to a specific vision or dream of the future

foreboding

Stronger emphasis on the feeling that something specifically bad or evil is about to happen

presage

A more archaic or formal term for an omen or a feeling of what is to come

boding

Often used as an omen or sign, though it carries a similar sense of impending fate

ominous feeling

Focuses more on the threatening quality of the atmosphere rather than the internal mental state

apprehension

Focuses more on the anxiety or fear felt about the future event

inkling

Suggests a much slighter, more vague hint or suggestion rather than a full feeling

intuition

A broader term for knowing something without conscious reasoning, not limited to future events

gut feeling

A much more informal and visceral way to describe an intuitive sense

misgiving

Usually refers to a feeling of doubt or distrust about a current decision rather than a future event

FAQs

How to use "presentiment" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe an intuitive feeling, as seen in Ludwig: "He had a "presentiment" that something unfortunate was about to occur." It functions as a noun that captures an internal sense of the future.

What is the difference between "presentiment" and "premonition"?

While often interchangeable, a "premonition" sometimes implies a specific warning or a psychic vision, whereas "presentiment" is usually a more generalized mental state or mood of expectation.

Can "presentiment" be positive?

Etymologically it means 'to feel beforehand', but in modern English usage, it is overwhelmingly used for negative or uneasy feelings. For a positive feeling, it is better to use "anticipation" or "excited expectation".

What are some synonyms for "presentiment"?

Common synonyms include "foreboding", "inkling" or "gut feeling" depending on how formal you want to be.