A high quality storybook illustration showing a young child standing on a grassy path. Floating in the air just in front of the child's face is a small, translucent, glowing image of a bright red umbrella, symbolizing a sudden premonition.

presentimiento

pre-sen-tee-mee-en-toh

nounmB2

premonition?A strong intuition about the future,foreboding?A dark or negative premonition

Also:hunch?A gut feeling,feeling?Intuitive sense

📝 In Action

Tuve un presentimiento de que algo no iba bien en la reunión.

I had a premonition that something wasn't going well in the meeting.

Ella siempre confía en sus presentimientos, y rara vez se equivoca.

She always trusts her hunches, and she is rarely wrong.

Un profundo presentimiento de fatalidad la invadió al leer la carta.

A deep sense of foreboding overcame her upon reading the letter.

Word Connections

Synonyms

intuición (intuition)
pálpito (hunch/palpitation)
corazonada (gut feeling)

Common Collocations

Tener un presentimiento – To have a premonition/hunch
Un mal presentimiento – A bad feeling/foreboding

💡 Grammar Points

Masculine Noun

Remember that 'presentimiento' is a masculine noun, so you must use 'el' or 'un' before it: 'El presentimiento' (The premonition).

❌ Common Pitfalls

Confusing 'Presentimiento' and 'Sentimiento'

Mistake: "Using 'sentimiento' when you mean an intuition about the future."

Correction: 'Presentimiento' is about sensing the *future* (pre-), while 'sentimiento' is about current *emotions* (feeling/emotion).

⭐ Usage Tips

Using 'Mal'

This word is most often used with the adjective 'mal' (bad) to describe a negative feeling about what is coming: 'Tuve un mal presentimiento'.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: presentimiento

Question 1 of 1

Which word best completes the sentence: 'Tengo un fuerte ______ de que hoy va a llover.'

📚 More Resources

Word Family

sentir(to feel) - verb

sentimiento(feeling, emotion) - noun

presentir(to foresee, to sense beforehand) - verb

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'presentimiento' usually positive or negative?

While it can technically be used for any strong intuition, 'presentimiento' is most commonly used to describe a negative or worrying feeling about something that is about to happen (foreboding).

How is 'presentimiento' different from 'intuición'?

'Intuición' (intuition) is a general word for knowing something without proof. 'Presentimiento' is a more specific, usually emotional, feeling that focuses directly on an event that will happen in the immediate future.