premonition
Premonition (noun) means a strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something bad, before there is any real evidence of it. Example: “She had a premonition of disaster the moment she boarded the plane.”
How to use premonition
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA gut feeling that something is going to happen before it actually does.
Word forms
premonitions plural
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
She had a _____ of disaster the moment she boarded the plane.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman premunition, from Ecclesiastical Latin praemonitio ("a forewarning"), from Latin praemoneo ("to warn beforehand"), from prae- ("before") plus moneo ("to warn") — the same root that gives us "monitor."
Related words
Rhymes for premonition
Frequently asked questions
What does “premonition” mean?
The word “premonition” means a strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something bad, before there is any real evidence of it. In plain terms, a gut feeling that something is going to happen before it actually does.
How do you pronounce “premonition”?
“Premonition” is pronounced pree-muh-NIH-shuhn (/ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən/ in IPA).
How do you use “premonition” in a sentence?
Here is “premonition” used in a sentence: “She had a premonition of disaster the moment she boarded the plane.”
What part of speech is “premonition”?
“Premonition” is a noun.
Where does the word “premonition” come from?
The word “premonition” comes from Latin. From Anglo-Norman premunition, from Ecclesiastical Latin praemonitio ("a forewarning"), from Latin praemoneo ("to warn beforehand"), from prae- ("before") plus moneo ("to warn") — the same root that gives us "monitor.".