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augur

Syllabification: (au·gur)
Pronunciation: /ˈôgər/

Translate augur | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of augur

verb

[no object] (augur well/badly/ill)
  • (of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome:the end of the Cold War seemed to augur well the return to the gold standard augured badly for industry
  • [with object] portend or bode (a specified outcome):a new coalition would not augur a new period of social reforms
  • [with object] archaic foresee or predict.

noun

  • (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behavior of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action.

Derivatives

augural

Pronunciation: /ˈôgyərəl/

adjective
( archaic)

Origin:

late Middle English (as a noun): from Latin, 'diviner'

Do not confuse augur with auger. Augur means 'be a sign of a likely outcome' (making any kind of profit augurs well for the future), while an auger means 'a tool used for boring holes'.

augur in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of augur in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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