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
  • 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
  • Lee saw the events foreshadowing a dark future for his country and maybe the world — changes in technology and wealth leaving workers behind.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 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
  • There are some limits to how well AI can work on predicting the future.
    — John Kell, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Planning earlier doesn’t mean predicting every future problem.
    — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of predicting
Verb
  • But the less strictly technical procedure Serra describes is analogous to operations at stake in Jonas’s own work, implying that the act of measurement by walking and seeing is tacitly existential.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Manuel Bompard, a deputy of the French National Assembly who is also a member of France Unbowed, rebuked Macron by name for implying that his party was responsible for the chaos.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of implying
Verb
  • The sequence stylistically excises itself from the episode as though clipping it, anticipating its excision from the show when uploaded to a video-sharing platform.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Among those anticipating modifications, 72% expect bathroom changes and 71% expect changes that improve access into or around the home.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of anticipating
Verb
  • 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
  • Analysts say the student group and Vucic are polling close, heralding a tight race and a referendum-like atmosphere.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 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 Oct. 2026.

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