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
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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
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In practice, Kearney’s geopolitical dynamics team takes an end-to-end view of what is happening globally, helps anticipate, prioritize and respond to the impacts of what’s happening in the market.—
Alexandra Pastore,
Footwear News,
20 May 2025
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None of it was anticipated before the March 18 ruling.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
20 May 2025
Verb
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While Florida, Colorado, Washington, D.C., California and Washington state experienced the greatest value declines from March to April, the data could foreshadow a larger housing market shift.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
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Last summer’s positive readings foreshadowed a modest rebound in deal activity, and spring saw that play out with strong March and April numbers.—
John Walkup,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Verb
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For Chadwick and other researchers, frequent eruptions offer the tantalizing opportunity to predict volcanic eruptions weeks to months in advance — something that’s very difficult to do with other volcanoes.—
Rong-Gong Lin II,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2025
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Ultimately, the company’s ambition is to build a computational model that captures the behaviours of every molecule inside a living cell and to predict how each of these molecules will change with health, disease or exposure to drugs.—
David Prosser,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Its extreme hostility to the very idea of liberal governance, its skepticism of democracy, and its faith in the primacy of the wealthy over the law all prefigured the way that Trump and Elon Musk would assail key functions of government in 2025.—
Zack Beauchamp,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
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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
Verb
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Unlike his small-time Israeli rivals, the placards implied, Netanyahu was a savvy statesman who punched above his weight on the international stage, thanks to his unaccented English oratory and ability to inveigle the world’s most powerful people.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2025
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The band sued Brinker International, the parent company of Chili’s Grill & Bar, last July, alleging that the use of the Ill Communication song falsely implied that Beastie Boys endorsed Chili’s.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
22 May 2025
Verb
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But the point was enough to secure European football for the first time in three decades, so it should still be heralded.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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The movie heralds from FilmNation Entertainment’s production label Infrared, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, and Assemble Media.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Strand foresees Prime Video similarly educating NASCAR fans, though not every bell and whistle will be unveiled this weekend.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
22 May 2025
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Management foresees full-year EPS to be between $5.95 and $6.55, which is a slight decrease from $6.32 recorded the previous year, reflecting persistent competitive pressures.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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