1
as in prediction
a declaration that something will happen in the future
a yearbook augury that of all the graduates, he would be the most likely to succeed
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2
as in omen
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
some people believe that a broken mirror is an augury of seven years' bad luck
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3
as in divination
the art or practice of foretelling future events by interpreting omens
the gift of augury that Nostradamus purportedly possessed
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of augury
Within its air of metropolitan disdain lurked an augury of England’s post-Brexit identity crisis, in which the country appears permanently torn between the deflating liberal dreams still harbored in the cities and the backlash fermenting in the provinces left behind.
—
Henry Wismayer, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2021
Her first food was fish skin, blackened and reeking of the sea—augury foreshadowing her fearlessness, her love of swimming, her appetites.
—Aria Beth Sloss, Bon Appétit, 22 Mar. 2022
As with all augury, there's room for interpretation.
—Matthew Askari, Car and Driver, 28 June 2022
During the past 14 years of drought, the Colorado River Delta has been a living augury of the Colorado River and the ever-expanding swell of Southwesterners who depend on it.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 23 Dec. 2014
See All Example Sentences for augury
Henry Wismayer, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2021
Her first food was fish skin, blackened and reeking of the sea—augury foreshadowing her fearlessness, her love of swimming, her appetites.
—Aria Beth Sloss, Bon Appétit, 22 Mar. 2022
As with all augury, there's room for interpretation.
—Matthew Askari, Car and Driver, 28 June 2022
During the past 14 years of drought, the Colorado River Delta has been a living augury of the Colorado River and the ever-expanding swell of Southwesterners who depend on it.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 23 Dec. 2014
See All Example Sentences for augury
Recent Examples of Synonyms for augury
Noun
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Notwithstanding predictions from high-profile international relations experts that the United States and China are likely to stumble into a war at some point in our lives, both have a pretty compelling interest in avoiding such a scenario.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Despite the pundits’ predictions, early polling has shown Harris is widely favored to make a comeback after losing to Trump in November.—
Lauren Irwin,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Trump has had experience with the omens special elections can carry.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
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In a further good omen for Cleveland, the Celtics went on to win the title that year.—
Matias Grez,
CNN,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The team found evidence of four different plants that are associated with ancient Maya medicine and divination rituals.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
26 Dec. 2024
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Following her magnificent turn as a Sicilian divination witch in Agatha All Along, Patti LuPone is returning to the small screen for another flashy role.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Yet this brand of Christian Zionism is clearly the forerunner to today’s – and holds sway in Washington.—
Shalom Goldman,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2025
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The title is an apt, if sort of obvious, introduction to Turner, who has been hailed as the forerunner to modern art.—
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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JPMorgan economists recently raised their forecast for a U.S. and global recession to 60 percent, up from 40 percent following President Donald Trump's imposition of sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries, including 104 percent tariffs on Chinese imports.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
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Economists significantly increased forecasts for a recession after Trump proceeded with the reciprocal tariff package, which called for tariffs as high as 50% impacting dozens of countries.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Weinstein’s thuggish joke was just one portent of the edgy, borderline sinister air that permeated the party from the very beginning.—
Scott Huver,
The Hollywood Reporter,
28 Feb. 2025
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As the two settle into their new house, Michael Shanks, the film’s Australian writer-director, pulls an anything-goes series of shocking portents.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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McKinley’s belief in the home market’s reliability thus became a self-fulfilling prophecy.—
Aroop Mukharji,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Mar. 2025
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Analysts say that a gloomier economic outlook can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, as businesses and consumers prepare for potential turbulence ahead.—
J.J. McCorvey,
NBC News,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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There’s a kind of implicit prayer in this that the withering of today’s Hollywood system is a presage for something better, giving the entire production a painful, nostalgic quality that tugs at your chest even as what unfolds before you is remarkably dumb.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2025
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In politics, there are liars and better liars How the Biden administration helped avoid a coup in Guatemala China’s meddling in Taiwan election presages year of misinformation threats Need help keeping up with this tumultuous election?—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
12 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Augury.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/augury. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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