as in to anticipate
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the strife in Bloody Kansas in the 1850s adumbrated the civil war that would follow
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Webb regularly shares videos of Kota's antics on social media, but this heartwarming video of Kota's reaction has certainly captured far more attention than anticipated.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Economists polled by FactSet had been anticipating a minor improvement in consumer sentiment from August.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Moreover, the film is also a vision of a time pregnant with radical change, with Michèle’s dramatic leap off course foreshadowing the imminent crisis of the Francosphere.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
-
That report speaks to inflation being a legitimate issue and could be foreshadowing a hotter CPI number.—
JJ Kinahan,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Before all that happened, though, there was the eight-course dinner, which went totally fine as predicted.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Explore Fall, a website that provides resources and tools to track the changing colors of leaves, is predicting an earlier and quicker fall foliage peak for the millions of people looking to see this year's natural spectacle.—
Kyle Reiman,
ABC News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Andersen’s story may have prefigured this moment, although no major actor in the war wants to be the boy.—
MICHAEL KIMMAGE,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
-
This early embrace of mechanical rhythm prefigured what would later become a foundation of hip-hop and electronic music.—
Jose Valentino Ruiz,
The Conversation,
13 June 2025
Verb
-
The bank double upgraded shares of the chocolate and cocoa products company to buy from sell and hiked its price target to $222 from $170, which implies more than 19% upside from Monday's closing price.—
Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
-
As the name implies, this chili comes together in a flash, just like lightning.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Pic heralds from György Pálfi, whose film Taxerdermia premiered at Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard in 2006 and Final Cut – Ladies & Gentleman screened in Cannes Classics in 2012.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
-
To get ahead and be heralded as truly talented will continue to be an uphill battle for trans people.—
Grace Byron,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Of these, 20 percent believe the effects will be significant, 46 percent expect these to be moderate and 16 percent foresee a minimal impact, with 16 percent unsure and only two percent expecting no impact whatsoever.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Over the next year, respondents also foresee a rising unemployment rate, lower earnings growth potential and a higher chance of losing their jobs.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share