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
  • 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
  • Wingo also thrived, catching seven passes for 121 yards and a score, foreshadowing the issues opponents will have trying to blanket both him and Coleman on the outside.
    — Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 10 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
  • Next year will see more classic accessories used in less traditional ways with Whatnot predicting shoppers will reuse pieces that are in their own closets.
    — Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • When the year started, investors were predicting a slew of AI companies going public, including SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of predicting
Verb
  • Ehrlich rates Netflix a buy with a $90 price target, implying 31% upside over the coming 12 months.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of implying
Verb
  • Fisher comes advertised as a high-IQ linebacker with a knack for anticipating plays before the snap.
    — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Utilities have no shortage of operational information at hand; the challenge is to connect it with predictive analysis, so operators can move beyond reacting to failures and toward anticipating them.
    — Charlie Sanchez, Forbes.com, 20 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 24 Oct. 2026.

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