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I wanted to use the word "Premonition" in a sentence, but when I checked the meaning I got "A feeling of evil to come", which was far from what I wanted to convey.

So I checked synonyms like "boding", "foreboding", "forewarning", "Presentiment", and so on. All had ominous connotations or a negativity or a sense of evil attached to the meaning.

So here I am, asking if there is a positive word for premonition, without negative implications.

UPDATE: "Hunch" is the word I select as matching my requirements, from all the answers I got.

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    Ian Dury calls positive premonitions glimpses, as he details in his wonderful song "You'll See Glimpses."
    – Sven Yargs
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 4:42

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Divination

1. the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.

2. augury; prophecy: The divination of the high priest was fulfilled.

3. perception by intuition; instinctive foresight.

A more informal word could be Hunch

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  • While I was far from using Divination , I like the informal word Hunch , which is exactly what I had , and it has no negativity.
    – Prem
    Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 17:20
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A simple "prediction" would probably work. It more relates to a suspicion rather than a 'gut feeling', but it carries no negative connotations towards the suspicion.

"Premonition" itself doesn't carry too heavy a negative connotation either, so you'd probably be safe using it as-is. Though I wouldn't use "boding", "foreboding" or "forewarning", since those carry a little more negative weight.

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  • Thanks for your answer. I did consider "prediction" , but I was not really predicting. Yes in the end, I did stick with Premonition.
    – Prem
    Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 17:15
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A vision would also achieve the same effect with no negative connotations.

Though a vision portrays a vivid premonition where the person receiving it is able to see things that will happen in future, and is far more descriptive than a gut-feeling or hunch.

If you intend to portray a gut-feeling, vision will not fit.

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  • Thanks for your answer. Though vision does fit with positive meaning, I was not really having a vivid vision. I ended up using Premonition itself.
    – Prem
    Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 17:18
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Precognition. Carries a serious psychiatric stain in German though. Alike all precognitive people are automatically suffering schizophrenia or worse.

I would summarize "clear-minded estimation", but I don't know how to bring that down to one word. INTUITION could be used for it though.

Paradoxically (?) there are more "clear-minded estimations" by scientists than by fortune-tellers and esoteric-fans.

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  • Even though my question is 18 months old, I like this answer !! PS: Welcome to ELU !!
    – Prem
    Commented Jun 7, 2015 at 6:50
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    Thank you for your benevolence. I was amused how many of my other critics forgot to apply the same standards & rules to other participants. My best wishes for you, and remember that I might need a while to score the reputation for spontaneous comments. ;-)
    – user124315
    Commented Jun 7, 2015 at 18:50
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Just say "positive premonition". It's thought provoking and challenges the reader's definition of premosition. There are adjectives for a reason.

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  • +1 , It is a simple but valid alternative !! PS : Welcome to ELU !!
    – Prem
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 2:28

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