Word
premonition
Phoneticspre·mo·ni·tion, stress on the third syllable
US/pɹɛməˈnɪʃən/
UK/pɹɪmənˈɪʃən/
Countable noun
Definition
n. a strong feeling that something bad will happen soon, even when you have no clear reason for it.
n. a strong intuitive anticipation of a future event, especially an unwelcome one, formed without conscious reasoning.
Examples
“She has a premonition that the trip will go badly.”
“The night before the flight, he wakes with a premonition of danger and decides to rebook for the next day.”
“Haunted by a premonition she cannot explain, she double-checks every detail of the plan, unable to shake the quiet certainty that something has been overlooked.”
Examples
simple
“She has a premonition that the trip will go badly.”
contextual
“The night before the flight, he wakes with a premonition of danger and decides to rebook for the next day.”
complex
“Haunted by a premonition she cannot explain, she double-checks every detail of the plan, unable to shake the quiet certainty that something has been overlooked.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “premonition” in context.
Verb
01. act on premonition
“She acted on her premonition and cancelled the trip at the last minute.”
verb + prep + noun
02. dismiss premonition
“He dismissed the premonition as stress and boarded the train anyway.”
verb + noun
03. experience premonition
“She experienced a premonition that her brother was in trouble.”
verb + noun
04. have premonition
“I had a premonition the night before that the deal would collapse.”
verb + noun
05. ignore premonition
“She ignored her premonition and regretted it almost immediately.”
verb + noun
06. premonition lingers
“The premonition lingered in his mind throughout the journey.”
noun + verb
Adjective
07. eerie premonition
“She woke with an eerie premonition that she was being watched.”
adj + noun
08. ominous premonition
“He could not shake the ominous premonition of approaching danger.”
adj + noun
Noun
09. premonition of danger
“The hikers shared a sudden premonition of danger before the storm.”
noun + prep + noun
10. act on a sudden premonition
“He acted on a sudden premonition and turned back home immediately.”
11. haunted by a grim premonition
“He was haunted by a grim premonition for the entire week.”
12. have a strong premonition
“She had a strong premonition that she should not get on the bus.”
Real-World Examples
“They often experience a premonition of doom prior to a catastrophic event such as a heart attack or a terminal infection.” “After a lifetime of experiencing premonitions of misery and death, Middleton, a North London piano teacher, recognized the signs.” Etymology
First use appears c. 1533. From Anglo-Norman premunition, from Ecclesiastical Latin praemonitiōnem (“a forewarning”), form of praemonitiō, from Latin praemonitus, past participle of praemoneō, from prae (“before”) (English pre-) + moneō (“to warn”) (from which English monitor). Compare Germanic forewarning.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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