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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That likely means the group’s heavy spending on signature gathering could foreshadow major advertising campaigns if the billionaire tax reaches the ballot, Bowler said.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
15 Mar. 2026
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Sampson foreshadowed what was coming.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The setup clearly anticipates larger family groups, though a few design choices surprised me.—
Kinsey Gidick,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Mar. 2026
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Renovation of the original building is anticipated to be complete in October.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
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The Kamm tail, with its upturned spoiler and flat panel adorned with Ferrari’s signature twin round taillights, is a nod to aerodynamics that prefigures the shape of the Lusso’s spiritual successor, the 275 GTB.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Knowing this value helps scientists predict chemical stability and reaction pathways.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Mar. 2026
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As the dust slowly settles, Democrats predict a wave of outrage, especially over the new voting restrictions.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Apple has included a repair manual that describes how to swap out the Neo’s keyboard, which may imply the company plans to start selling replacement keyboards as independent products via its Self Service Repair store (though this isn’t confirmed as of writing).—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
15 Mar. 2026
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After all, saying psychiatric euthanasia for young people should be avoided in the future implies that it should have been avoided in the past.—
Charles Lane,
The Atlantic,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The actress had appeared on television and had previously been heralded as The Next Karate Kid, but her performance in Boys Don't Cry is one of the boldest breakthroughs ever captured on film.—
Darren Franich,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
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As the frontman of the Pogues, he was heralded for his cranky, often tongue-in-cheek delivery of songs about the misadventures of Ireland’s residents.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Huang doesn’t foresee this technology solely being used by Nvidia.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
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For now, the company does not foresee closing additional stores – or opening new ones – and instead, will focus on improving performance at its existing stores.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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