as in to foreshadow
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the strife in Bloody Kansas in the 1850s adumbrated the civil war that would follow
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Recent Examples of adumbrate
In between, works by contemporaries complicate superficial ideas about his meteoric genius, and small, delicate drawings teem with an abundance of ideas — paintings never made, thoughts adumbrated then abandoned.
—
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
Nothing in America’s tepid 19th-century contributions to European classical music adumbrated it; nor did the homely and sometimes hokey popular songs of Stephen Foster.
—Heather Mac Donald, National Review, 22 Aug. 2019
The helicopter crash, on the other hand, is a narrative dead end, merely adumbrating the portrait that Mr. Davenport will draw of Mr. Bezos as unflappable.
—Randall Stross, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2018
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
Nothing in America’s tepid 19th-century contributions to European classical music adumbrated it; nor did the homely and sometimes hokey popular songs of Stephen Foster.
—Heather Mac Donald, National Review, 22 Aug. 2019
The helicopter crash, on the other hand, is a narrative dead end, merely adumbrating the portrait that Mr. Davenport will draw of Mr. Bezos as unflappable.
—Randall Stross, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adumbrate
Verb
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Instead of foreshadowing the big year that establishes Palencia as an elite closer, the WBC may have added to this season’s choppiness.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
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This spring, xAI struck a deal to give Cursor access to its compute infrastructure, foreshadowing similar, larger deals with Anthropic and Google in the future.—
Samuel Axon,
ArsTechnica,
16 June 2026
Verb
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But, by 2030, AI’s intelligence per watt (to reference a new metric recently introduced by Chris Re and colleagues at Stanford) will be dramatically higher, to a degree that few today are anticipating or have yet internalized.—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
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And traders have consistently anticipated key economic data points, like the rate of US inflation and interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
Verb
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Over the course of one phantasmagoric evening, Robin witnesses events that prefigure the Revolutionary War.—
John Swansburg,
The Atlantic,
15 June 2026
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In July 1962, Froio prefigured her lifelong involvement with the Hamptons by writing a piece for WWD about what was selling at the boutiques in West Hampton, commenting on the merchandise at stores called Le Sorelle (The Sisters) and Treasure Trove.—
Lorna Koski,
Footwear News,
11 June 2026
Verb
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To be clear, many predicted the team to have a solid showing, with several calling on them to make it out of the group stage.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
20 June 2026
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Which top college and international prospects do pundits predict the Mavs will target with the ninth pick?—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 June 2026
Verb
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His focus on taming inflation implied the opposite.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
21 June 2026
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His kingdom, the gesture implied, was already full.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
Verb
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Ferris Bueller's Day Off was only Mia Sara's second film role, but her Sloane Peterson has come to be heralded as one of the defining parts of her career.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 June 2026
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The film heralds from co-writers and co-directors Sophie Cohen and Michael Lindsay and is produced by 16oz Films in association with House of Vixens.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
Verb
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Originally foreseen as the second Air Jordan of Michael’s post-player era, the Air Jordan 16 was designed by Wilson Smith III after Tinker Hatfield relinquished the reins.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
18 June 2026
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As part of that, Warsh said the Fed could make changes to its usual release of projections every three months showing where Fed officials foresee interest rates, the economy and inflation heading.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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