as in to anticipate
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
-
The Trustees anticipate that Medicare will face a substantial financial shortfall.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
-
Wind gusts of up to 50 mph and pea-sized hail (0.25 inches) are anticipated.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
In the first act, a handkerchief dangles in front of the audience which leads to foreshadowing in the second act.—
Aleah Wright,
Essence,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Watching the earlier ephemerals foreshadows more beauty to unfold in the next several weeks.—
Sheryl De Vore,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
No one predicted that diminutive quarterback Dillon Gabriel would go in the top 100 picks, but the Browns selected the Oregon passer at No. 94 Friday night.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
-
Google is predicting a spike in search volumes this month for terms related to the recession that came to define the late 2000s.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The widescreen, 35mm format prefigured IMAX and other high-density imagery in a way that still stuns on screen.—
John Wenzel,
The Denver Post,
31 Jan. 2025
-
It is also prefigured (another Biblical device) by Pharaoh’s order, in Exodus, to kill all male babies born to Hebrew mothers.—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
That same year, István Hegedűs, a former politician who had served in parliament alongside Orbán, read an article in a pro-Fidesz newspaper which implied that only the Party’s generosity enabled C.E.U. to stay in Budapest.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
-
These stories imply that this person did this remarkable thing, so anyone else can do it, too.—
Dmitry Malin,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
It was heralded as a watershed moment, a legally binding document to transform a police department with a troubled history.—
Natasha Dartigue,
Baltimore Sun,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The Commonwealth is heralded as a national bellwether, like clockwork every four years.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The storms are foreseen to bring wind gusts of up to 40 mph and marble-sized hail (0.5 inches).—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
24 Apr. 2025
-
The Mortgage Bankers Association foresees price growth to slow to 1.3 percent year-over-year by the end of 2025 and hold steady at that rate in 2026.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share