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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The film smartly foreshadows what will befall Alma and Maggie and Hank.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
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This solid resin, used to embalm the dead and as a painkiller (mixed with wine), poignantly foreshadowed Jesus' sacrificial destiny.—
Nadia Cantú,
AZCentral.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Will Woll’s return to the Leafs come earlier than the organization anticipated?—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Its official commissioning has been highly anticipated in China, where the country’s rapid military modernization, including the expansion of its navy, has been a deep source of national pride.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Military action in Venezuela today without allies may prefigure action tomorrow against allies—for example, to invade and annex Greenland.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
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Tragedy strikes many times in this decades-spanning story, in many forms, but the defining event of Grainier’s life sees his home burned to the ground, an event that eerily prefigures the LA fires of early 2025.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Then, another cold front is predicted to return this weekend — dropping temperatures back down quite rapidly.—
Ray Padilla,
Louisville Courier Journal,
7 Jan. 2026
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The world's largest economy weathered the shocks of 2025 better than most pundits predicted.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Newsom’s interview Monday on MS NOW, the cable channel beloved by Democratic politicians and activist voters, implied anew that his final year as governor will be dominated by his all-but-certain bid for the White House in 2028.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Experts, however, caution the situation is much more complicated than the president might imply, and oil stocks lost steam on Tuesday after their Monday rally, undoing some of the previous day’s gains.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Scores of lawmakers and union members heralded the return of the Worker Protection Act in the state Capitol on Thursday, six days before the legislature was set to settle in for its 2026 session.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
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Mamdani is being heralded as a hero for espousing one of the most destructive ideologies on the planet.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The designer wrote his master’s thesis on wearables, foreseeing how smart clothing and other technologies could become part of daily life even before wireless technologies like Wifi and Bluetooth were standard.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
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While experts think that significantly boosting oil production in Venezuela could cost upwards of $100 billion and take at least a decade, some Wall Street analysts foresee a potentially faster upgrade.—
Alain Sherter,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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