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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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

There may have also been some foreshadowing of how the agency can get back some of the emissions reductions it’ll lose when it pulls out the fee.
SANDAG’s Plan to Kill Its Driving Fee Is Stuck in the Slow Lane|Andrew Keatts|July 11, 2022|Voice of San Diego
He tested it in 1796 on his gardener’s son, which is a bit of a foreshadowing.
Why young orphans were once used as human refrigerators|PopSci Staff|February 9, 2022|Popular-Science
It’s an argument I’m sympathetic to, given just how powerful the foreshadowing of Kendall being trapped in some way has been all season.
Let Succession be ambiguous|Emily VanDerWerff|December 7, 2021|Vox
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
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

foreshadowing

Origin of foreshadowing

Words nearby foreshadowing

Words related to foreshadowing

How to use foreshadowing in a sentence