adumbrating

verb

present participle of adumbrate
as in foreshadowing
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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for adumbrating
  1. foreshadowing
  2. prefiguring
  3. predicting
  4. implying
  5. anticipating
  6. heralding
  7. foreseeing
Verb
  • Most notably, there’s a stash of pre-debut songs that show how broad his stylistic range was from the beginning, foreshadowing his later adventures in roots, country and pre-rock balladry.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Outside groups weighing in on attempts to change Colorado law through the ballot have started spending big money, foreshadowing what’s sure to be a bruising six-week stretch before Election Day.
    — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of foreshadowing
Verb
  • On the city’s West Side, the site of storied clubs such as Silvio’s as well as the Maxwell Street Market, blues musicians developed a style of electric blues in the 1950s that typically included a horn section (prefiguring soul music).
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026
Definition of prefiguring
Verb
  • Forecasters are predicting that the northeast and Mid-Atlantic will experience similar amounts of flooding as happened during a 2023 El Niño event — a record setting year.
    — Ava Berger, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Yet internal records show administrators had met weeks earlier to plan for the controversy, predicting both the locker room privacy concerns and the parent outrage over cut players.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of predicting
Verb
  • The lawsuit is different from previous legal action against the president -- first, in that the plaintiffs are ordinary citizens, shifting the focus from news gatherers to news consumers, and thus implying a much larger pool of stakeholders.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Deutsche Bank also has a buy rating on the stock and raised its price target to $250 from $230, implying nearly 70% upside.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of implying
Verb
  • Kalshi has hired one of former President Barack Obama’s top advisers, political strategist Eric Schultz, a person familiar with the matter told Semafor — the latest sign of companies anticipating Democratic victories in Tuesday’s midterms.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Investors were anticipating Moody’s rating decision as France, the second-largest economy in the euro zone, grappled with protests and a sharp surge in bond yields.
    — Darla Mercado, CFP®,Jeff Cox, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of anticipating
Verb
  • Some pundits are heralding the end of Nike’s chokehold on the athlete marketing space, while others predict a turn toward a more varied sector.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Analysts say the student group and Vucic are polling closely, heralding a tight race and a referendum-like atmosphere.
    — Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of heralding
Verb
  • Nate Davis does the honors again, foreseeing the winners of all 272 regular-season games to propose win-loss records for all 32 teams.
    — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Nevertheless, Patel remains optimistic, foreseeing a future where human creativity and critical thinking combine with AI's potential for endless possibilities.
    — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of foreseeing
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Adumbrating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrating. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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