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
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
-
Given that Tom rose to fame as the most recent actor to portray Peter Parker and Spider-Man in Sony's Spider-Man film franchise, the home video moment could be seen as foreshadowing for the superhero actor's career.—
Tommy McArdle,
PEOPLE,
1 June 2026
-
Meanwhile, quarterback Jalen Hurts, speaking at his first news conference of the offseason Wednesday, seemed to foreshadow the inevitable.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Amidst the momentous changes of her day, Carson not only fashioned a book that anticipated much that was yet to come and still to be debated.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
But in 2000, few anticipated this increase would approach $15,000 per capita and 18% of GDP by 2025.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
The race took on the dimensions of a proxy battle between OpenAI and Anthropic, a clash of money and priorities that seems likely to prefigure other midterm contests.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
That prefigured, in a much smaller and less consequential way, Iran’s own actions in blocking the Strait of Hormuz during the current crisis.—
Ioana Emy Matesan,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But if the ongoing investigation shows that there were more – 100 or even 200 deaths by late May – the modeling predicts a much higher likelihood of this growing into a massive outbreak.—
Dr. Sanjay Gupta,
CNN Money,
6 June 2026
-
Highly capable professionals often spend enormous amounts of energy replaying conversations, second-guessing decisions, and trying to predict how others interpreted their behavior.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
Sinner’s Early Exit Sinner entered the tournament with -275 odds to win it all, implying a roughly 70% chance of his hoisting the trophy.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
-
Previous measurements implied that the motion of stars in the SMC were indicative of the rotation of the dwarf galaxy, but according to these new results, that was a misinterpretation.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Her presence is heralded not by the sounds of howls, roars or clanking chains, but by the shutting of the door to her study, the scrape of her chair as it is pulled towards her desk, and the clanking of her type-writer keys.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
The whispers about Elba being a potential Bond began all the way back in 2008, when Daniel Craig said that Barack Obama’s recent election could herald a Black Bond.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Dell foresees supply constraints in the second half of fiscal 2027, Clarke said.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
-
Regardless of Emery’s encouraging assessment back then, Buendia’s overall season record of 11 goals and nine assists underlined a turnaround very few, aside from the midfielder himself, could have foreseen.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
