presentiment

/prɛˈzɛntəmənt/

Other forms: presentiments

Do you ever have the feeling that something bad is about to happen? That’s called a presentiment.

The word presentiment comes from the Latin word præsentire, meaning “to sense beforehand.” Some people call it a "gut feeling." For example, if you leave for a trip and something doesn't feel right, you may chalk it up to just being nervous. But later, when your flight is cancelled and you lose your luggage, you may remember that little twinge — the presentiment that something bad was about to happen.

Definitions of presentiment

1. noun

   a feeling of evil to come
   “the lawyer had a presentiment that the judge would dismiss the case”

   synonyms: boding, foreboding, premonition

   types:

   shadow

   a premonition of something adverse

   presage

   a foreboding about what is about to happen

   type of:

   apprehension, apprehensiveness, dread

   fearful expectation or anticipation