portend pȯr-ˈtend verb
: indicate by signs
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The word portend has appeared in 99 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 5 in “Apple’s Biggest Problem? My Mom” by Kevin Roose:
When Apple lost more than $75 billion in market value this past week after a surprise announcement that it is expecting lower iPhone sales than originally projected, the company put most of the blame for its troubles on China, where a slowing economy and the trade war with the United States have hurt sales.
… Most of the journalists who write about tech for a living (including me) are early adopters — power users who like having the latest gadgets, and who are willing to fork over money for a slightly better experience. For some of these people, Apple’s announcement has come as a shock that portends potential disaster for the company.
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