Foreboding
Etymology
An English formation from “fore-” (before) and “bode,” from Old English “bodian,” to announce or proclaim, itself from “boda,” a messenger. To bode was to be an omen; foreboding is the inner announcement, ahead of any proof, that the omen points to harm.
noun · /for-BOH-ding/
A strong intuition that something bad is about to happen.
What it names
The dark presentiment that arrives without evidence — a certainty in the gut that trouble is coming.
Example
A vague foreboding kept her awake, though the house was quiet and nothing was obviously wrong.
Related idea
Sharp trepidation attaches to a known event just ahead; foreboding is murkier and prophetic, a dread of something not yet even identified.