foreshadowing

noun

fore·​shad·​ow·​ing fȯr-ˈsha-də-wiŋ 

plural foreshadowings

: an indication of what is to come

If the history of the world were a novel, the events so strikingly chronicled in the photographs in this book … would seem a foreshadowing of the recent events …

—Ralph Novak

On this merry Christmas evening, however, no fears or dim foreshadowings of any coming event clouded our hearts or faces.

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

also : the use of such indications (as in a work of literature)

And, further, Rose is a genuine cliff-hanger, or page-turner, full of foreshadowing … and all the tried and tricky methods of creating suspense.

—John Simon

Synonyms

• forerunner
• hint
• precursor
• portent
• prediction
• omen
• foreboding
• presage
• suggestion
• herald
• augury
• prefiguring

Examples of foreshadowing in a Sentence

the hero's strange encounter with a grave digger is often seen as a foreshadowing of his own death

Recent Examples on the Web

Their Unicorn popsicle may be an element of subtle foreshadowing for the rapidly growing company. —Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

There was no foreshadowing of Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury on May 3 or Bregman’s severe quad injury on May 23, one that will keep him out for several weeks. —Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 2 June 2025

The document, seen by Newsweek, suggested Meghan had been left unprotected while pregnant in a foreshadowing of her argument to Oprah Winfrey less than a year later. —Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025

Markets test Trump As stocks whipsawed this month, volatility gripped Treasuries and the dollar broadly weakened, leaving investors wondering whether this was just a bout of extreme abnormality or a foreshadowing of more turmoil to come. —John Towfighi, CNN Money, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for foreshadowing

• overshadowing
• shadowing