foreshadowing

[ fawr-shad-oh-ing ]

/ ˌfɔrˈʃæd oʊ ɪŋ /

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See synonyms for: foreshadowing / foreshadowings on Thesaurus.com

noun

an indication of something that will happen in the future, often used as a literary device to hint at or allude to future plot developments: The gothic novel uses foreshadowing to build suspense.

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Origin of foreshadowing

First recorded in 1845–50; foreshadow + -ing¹

Words nearby foreshadowing

foresaid, foresail, foresee, foreseeable, foreshadow, foreshadowing, foreshank, foresheet, foreshock, foreshore, foreshorten

How to use foreshadowing in a sentence

Often, it’s a foreshadowing of when political change is coming.
Politics Report: The 180-Degree Shift in Union Construction Politics|Andrew Keatts|July 17, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing since, after Slovakia broke from the Czech Republic, all kinds of hell broke loose.
One Big Happy, Global, Murderous Crime Mob|Sean Culligan|March 26, 2021|Ozy
Almost as an act of foreshadowing, Philly tied eventual champion Toronto in that category.
Can The Sixers Find A Way To Win It All With Embiid And Simmons?|James L. Jackson|September 28, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
In a bit of foreshadowing, he repeated that opinion in November.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

“The spoon was a tool for foreshadowing,” the Facebook page explains.
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth!|Melissa Leon|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a foreshadowing of things to come, I learned that Africa is always changing.
How I Got Addicted to Africa (and Wrote a Thriller About It)|Todd Moss|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rise of the yeoman class in Britain was particularly critical in foreshadowing the evolution of America.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class|Joel Kotkin|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We often joke that Willa was less a name, and more foreshadowing.
My Daughter Is Bossy—But Don’t Call Her That|Sally Kohn|March 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In that book his grandfather and father are represented as foreshadowing the greatness of their descendant.
The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century|Leo Wiener
No less striking is His touching reference to the dark days coming, the first distinct foreshadowing of the Cross.
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of Matthew|John Monro Gibson
Men have sometimes a foreshadowing of what will come to pass without distinctly seeing it.
Heroes of the Telegraph|J. Munro
But there is a wondrously clear foreshadowing of that tremendous cross scene in the earliest page of this old Book.
Quiet Talks with World Winners|S. D. Gordon
There certainly was at present no foreshadowing of the coming separation, in his daughter's face.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art|Various