betoken

[ bih-toh-kuhn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to give evidence of; indicate:

   to betoken one's fidelity with a vow; a kiss that betokens one's affection.

2. to be or give a token or sign of; portend:

   a thunderclap that betokens foul weather; an angry word that betokens hostility.

betoken

/ bɪˈtəʊkən /

verb

1. to indicate; signify

   black clothes betoken mourning

2. to portend; augur

Word History and Origins

Origin of betoken¹

First recorded in 1125–75, betoken is from the Middle English word bitocnen, bitacnen. See be-, token

Example Sentences

Red Friday betokens an upcoming home game for the Kansas City Chiefs.

From Washington Post

The statistics betokened a return to artistic health for the 41 theaters of Broadway, forced to shut down for 15 months starting in March 2020 because of the pandemic.

From Washington Post

This “Cyrano” centers the freedom that new forms of drama betoken, and all the ways that the writing of the past can feed them — from Rostand to Emily Dickinson.

From Washington Post

Set designer Donald Eastman places the action in an airy courtyard of broken concrete slabs — the cracks in the cement betokening the fissures that will symbolically swallow up Floyd.

From Washington Post

Against this, the pure symmetry of her face betokens celestial harmonies, while her figure is improbably — dreamily — sinuous.

From Washington Post