foreshadow

[fawr-shad-oh, fohr-]

verb (used with object)

1. to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure.

   Political upheavals foreshadowed war.

foreshadow

/ fɔːˈʃædəʊ /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• foreshadower noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of foreshadow¹

First recorded in 1570–80; fore- + shadow

Example Sentences

The idea began at Hewlett-Packard in the 1950s—a foreshadowing of the Silicon Valley look of today—and slowly spread, hitting the East Coast in the early 1990s.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

England could have retained the Ashes in Perth, only for Mitchell Johnson to foreshadow the havoc he would cause four years later.

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Viewed against such a prism, this foreshadows a period of sloppy price action or correction for the stock market.

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The administration in September foreshadowed the move by issuing an executive order saying it would consider reducing tariffs on certain items not produced in the U.S. when foreign nations agree to trade deals with Washington.

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Democrats had a good night Tuesday, winning governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, which they hope foreshadows the 2026 midterms.

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Related Words

• augur 
• foretell 
• imply 
• portend 
• predict 
• prefigure 
• presage