foreshadow

[ fawr-shad-oh, fohr- ]

/ fɔrˈʃæd oʊ, foʊr- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foreshadow ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure: Political upheavals foreshadowed war.

Nearby words

forerunner, foresaddle, foresaid, foresail, foresee, foreshadow, foreshank, foresheet, foreshock, foreshore, foreshorten

Origin of foreshadow

First recorded in 1570–80; fore- + shadow

Related forms

fore·shad·ow·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foreshadow

That would only foreshadow the “fractured antislavery world” to come, as Kantrowitz calls it, which emerged after the Civil War.
Did the Civil War Achieve Equality? Stephen Kantrowitz’s ‘More Than Freedom’|Eric Herschthal|August 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Weirdly, he mostly avoided Cubism, even though he got wild Cezannes that foreshadow that movement.
Philadelphia’s Reopened Barnes Foundation Puts Its Masterpieces in a Better Light|Blake Gopnik|May 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The harshest hit in what's available publicly is saved for the Obamas and could foreshadow a talking point if she runs in 2012.
The Biggest Leaks From Palin's Book|Shushannah Walshe|November 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
A little occurrence, toward evening, however, seemed to foreshadow it.
Hoosier Mosaics|Maurice Thompson

The exquisite German gold and metal-work of the Charlemagne period seems to foreshadow the work of the great Nuremberg goldsmiths.
The Story of Nuremberg|Cecil Headlam
These rose-tinted dawns too often foreshadow the storm-cloud.
Ruth Hall|Fanny Fern
These mythological ballads, if I may use the expression, foreshadow the dramatic and epic poetry of a later age.
A History of Sanskrit Literature|Arthur A. MacDonell
His view of the relation of God to his creatures is held to foreshadow the pantheism of Spinoza.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for foreshadow

foreshadow

/ (fɔːˈʃædəʊ) /

verb

(tr) to show, indicate, or suggest in advance; presage

Derived Forms

foreshadower, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012