prefiguration
Americannoun
-
the act of prefiguring
-
something that prefigures, such as a prototype
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prefiguration
1350–1400; Middle English prefiguracioun < Late Latin praefigūrātiōn- (stem of praefigūrātiō ), equivalent to praefigūrāt ( us ) (past participle of praefigūrāre to prefigure ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
And the “Laudamus Te,” with its insistent back-and-forth reiteration of the simplest consonant harmonies, sounds like a prefiguration of Virgil Thomson’s “Four Saints in Three Acts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
It’s a prefiguration — of how to think, how to collaborate, and how to stay sane when the private is gone.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
Since the early 20th century, Cycladic figures have had iconic power for contemporary artists, as an ancient prefiguration of abstraction.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 11, 2022
“I wouldn’t say it’s a prefiguration of Romanticism; it is already Romantic. Rather, he goes straight to contemporary music, straight to Alban Berg.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2021
"This prefiguration of the Word by Noah is certainly curious," remarked Durtal.
From The Cathedral by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans
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.
