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
  • Her life with George Harrison was foreshadowed by a visit to a gallery in Rome.
    — Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Early on, there’s a moment that foreshadows what the real debate is (or should be).
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of foreshadow
Verb
  • What if, by anticipating the regulatory frameworks by a few years, companies could also unlock more business-minded features?
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The best twists will come out of the moves that the firms can’t possibly anticipate.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Oct. 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
  • Sullivan has evolved into the stardom predicted for him since his days kicking the ball around with his brothers inside and outside of his northeast Philadelphia home.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The playoff projections are based on a Monte Carlo simulation, a computation of random sampling used to predict outcomes, of the 2026 season.
    — Loren Maxwell, AJC.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of predict
Verb
  • Truist hiked its Meta Platforms price target to $1,000 from $763, implying almost 35% upside from yesterday's close.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
  • It was implied that the residency would draw upon multiple bonds that the band has built with the venue, the city, and the surrounding Bay Area fanbase over the years.
    — Benjy Eisen, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of imply
Verb
  • But having to navigate designing a hopeful film, one devoid of an antagonist that also heralds a positive view of AI, was a challenge in its own right.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Likewise, many a technology before – from electricity and the telegraph to phone and radio – have been heralded as sublime, magical, revolutionary, and terrifying.
    — Michael Serazio, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of herald
Verb
  • But getting swept off your feet by someone who’s effectively a nearly seven-foot tree is, of course, rarely foreseen.
    — Kenneal Patterson, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But the Kuvshynovs and their legal team say what happened to their daughter was preventable — and foreseen.
    — David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Oct. 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 16 Oct. 2026.

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