adumbrate

verb

ˈa-dəm-ˌbrāt How to pronounce adumbrate (audio)
Definition of adumbratenext
as in to foreshadow
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

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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adumbrate
  1. foreshadow
  2. anticipate
  3. prefigure
  4. predict
  5. imply
  6. herald
  7. foresee
Verb
  • Did Matt write Leo’s character specifically to foreshadow that?
    — Matt Minton, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Pork Soda, in particular, foreshadowed the weight of nu-metal acts like Korn, who also deployed sagging bass in service of profoundly unsettling narratives.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of foreshadow
Verb
  • Council members anticipate hearing evidence from an independent investigator and other witnesses, said council member LaKeisha Gantt.
    — Reed Williams, AJC.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • They were handed over to the authorities by security forces in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state, on Friday for medical attention and routine checks, and were anticipating their return home to reunite with their families.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of anticipate
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
  • Other Black families tried to hold on under the new regime but ultimately found Wilmington untenable and moved north, joining a local exodus that prefigured the Great Migration.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026
Definition of prefigure
Verb
  • Seat counts have stopped predicting anything, which means the pricing model underneath thirty years of enterprise software is now unstable in both directions, and everybody selling it knows.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Water starts rapidly flooding the house, with a creature swimming through, clearly adept at moving underwater as had been predicted.
    — William Earl, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of predict
Verb
  • Tuesday, David Berman of the Eastern District clarified that the Eastern District did not mean to imply through the filing that Rozier was part of a gang.
    — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • In 2010, Hilton posted a picture of the then 17 year old Cyrus getting out of a car, with some parts pixelated, implying the child star was not fully clothed.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of imply
Verb
  • Mid-July heralded two unique events in the history of our court system.
    — Jeffrey Freedman, Sun Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026
  • With its breezy beat and frozen treat inspiration, the song has naturally been heralded as a song of the summer.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of herald
Verb
  • Last month, Semafor reported that Amazon’s sustainability chief foresees a multi-year uptick in the company’s carbon footprint.
    — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • To be fair, a number of the calamities should have been foreseen, probably.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of foresee

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adumbrate
adumbrated
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Cite this Entry

“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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