foreshadowing
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of foreshadowing
First recorded in 1845–50; foreshadow ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Foreshadowing is an advance sign or warning of what is to come in the future. The author of a mystery novel might use foreshadowing in an early chapter of her book to give readers an inkling of an impending murder. When you want to let people know about an event that is yet to occur, you can use foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used as a literary device to tease readers about plot turns that will occur later in the story. A fortune teller might use foreshadowing, warning that a short life line is a sign of some impending disaster.
Vocabulary lists containing foreshadowing
Power Prefix: fore-
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Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is ironic that Harrison’s protest against taxation ended up foreshadowing private markets’ capture of artistic value.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
Reinhart, the BNY economist, said the absence of foreshadowing makes Waller’s dissent more consequential.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
I wish I’d noted that line as foreshadowing, but just like any good mystery, the clues are only evident in hindsight.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026
Even the announcement of the Ashes squad was an anticlimactic foreshadowing of things to come.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025
Guests were frequent at the Terranovas’ apartment, so when the doorbell rang, there was no sense of foreboding—no dimming of the sun, no foreshadowing of the arrival of death at their door.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
