foreshadow

[fawr-shad-oh, fohr-]

See more synonyms for foreshadow on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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

Origin of foreshadow

First recorded in 1570–80; fore- + shadow

Related formsfore·shad·ow·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for foreshadowing

prefigure, predict, portend, imply, foretell, augur, presage, omen, hint, suggest, signal, betoken, adumbrate, forebode, promise, shadow, bode, prophesy, telegraph

Examples from the Web for foreshadowing

Contemporary Examples of foreshadowing

In a bit of foreshadowing, he repeated that opinion in November.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails
Jackie Kucinich
January 9, 2015
“The spoon was a tool for foreshadowing,” the Facebook page explains.
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth!
Melissa Leon
December 11, 2014
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
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
Foreshadowing her intentions, the forty-seven-year-old gave the boy a signed first edition of the titillating tale.
Seduce Like a Writer: How 7 Famous Scribes Wooed
Joni Rendon, Shannon McKenna Schmidt
February 13, 2014

Historical Examples of foreshadowing

There must have been a foreshadowing in her soul of the man's reliability, though she knew it not.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Diana watched this foreshadowing of tragedy with tight lips, pale cheeks.
Mistress Wilding
Rafael Sabatini
This is no mere jest, but a foreshadowing of Pietro Aretino.
The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy
Jacob Burckhardt
I asked, wondering at my indifference to this foreshadowing of triumph.
The Plum Tree
David Graham Phillips
Before I knew the history of the saints, I had a foreshadowing of their ecstasy.
Romola
George Eliot

British Dictionary definitions for foreshadowing

foreshadow

verb

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

Derived Formsforeshadower, 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

Word Origin and History for foreshadowing

foreshadow

1570s, from fore- + shadow (v.); the notion is of a shadow thrown before an advancing material object as an image of something suggestive of what is to come. Related: Foreshadowed; foreshadowing.