sign of the times
Era-defining phenomenon
A sign of the times is something that reflects the current era's character, trends, or conditions—usually suggesting decline or troubling change.
Kids staring at phones instead of talking to each other—it's a sign of the times.
The phrase often carries a tone of resignation about modern life, though it can be neutral: Electric cars everywhere—a sign of the times.
- zeitgeistEra's dominant mentality
- fadsShort-lived popular phenomena
- new normalAltered baseline after disruption
- omenProphetic indicator
- portentSign of future calamity
bellwether · symptom · trend · indicator · harbinger · canary in the coal mine · wake-up call · pandemics · art movements · environmental activism · generational shift · scientific discoveries · barometer · political revolutions · turning point · tipping point · technology · wars
- time sayingscarpe diem, seize the day, better late than never, tempus fugit, haste makes waste
sign of the timesstatus quo
Existing condition of affairs
bedrock · fact of life · given · steady state
sign, signs, signed, signing, signer, signal, signals, signaling, signatory