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
  • Throughout the season, there seems to be foreshadowing that something bad might happen to Robby.
    — Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2026
  • As all of this finale drama is happening around him, Danny gets increasingly drunker, foreshadowing absolutely nothing good coming our way.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 30 July 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
  • Processor defenses leave a tiny opening Modern processors improve performance by predicting which path a program is likely to follow and beginning the work before the correct path is confirmed.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But predicting what will be Roman's greatest accomplishments over the course of its five-year-mission is a tricky business.
    — Joe Palca, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of predicting
Verb
  • Sprague picked up the final quarter laid out by Reddington, who accused the prosecution of implying that Clancy was instructed to lie about hearing voices.
    — Sumiko Corley, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The Morgan Stanley analyst reiterated an overweight rating on the stock, with a $300 price target implying more than 70% upside from Tuesday's close.
    — Sarah Min, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of implying
Verb
  • The return of diplomats to their posts would suggest Washington is not anticipating a return to all-out warfare.
    — Chloe Taylor,Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026
  • One humanoid robot managed to successfully play tennis against a human, anticipating unpredictable moves and showing an ability to adapt in a real-world setting.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of anticipating
Verb
  • But the uncertainties around the functionality of Claude’s watermarking may present new challenges, rather than heralding a new era of certainty around AI detection.
    — Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Countless photographers were primed and ready to capture this magnificent display as Earth passed through the densest region of Swift-Tuttle debris trail, heralding the appearance of hundreds of shooting stars.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Aug. 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 29 Aug. 2026.

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