as in emphasizing
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
repeatedly foregrounded his experience in international affairs in the course of his campaign for the presidency
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Recent Examples of foregrounding
Clearly referencing Constantin Brancusi’s polished reflective surfaces, Bove’s mirrors, rather than foregrounding the planar surface, do the precise opposite, dissolving it almost entirely into a play of chromatically variable reflections.
—
Gordon Hughes, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
The essay presents an alternate view of our hunter-gatherer history, foregrounding the feminine act of collecting.
—Chloe Schama, Vogue, 24 Feb. 2026
Like their future disciples in PC Music, Scritti Politti were giddy pop fans who approached the form as self-conscious outsiders, foregrounding its artificiality, pushing its bright colors to new extremes, aiming to make great pop records that also asked probing questions about what pop even is.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 15 Feb. 2026
One that was made on his own terms, foregrounding Magellan’s potentially abusive past behavior and mistreatment of natives everywhere.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 30 Jan. 2026
Its three episodes form a sort of social-science experiment, in which the stories’ multiple common elements serve as the control variables, foregrounding the independent ones, the things that change according to the families’ circumstances and their distinct pasts.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
By foregrounding things like ancient waterways and table tennis, China is deploying a sophisticated brand of cultural statecraft designed to soften the edges of a hardening geopolitical landscape.
—Xianda Huang, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
There’s something charmingly low-budget about the whole affair, devoid of splashy graphics or teasers about what’s to come and instead foregrounding the excitement of the stars.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
France said Combs’s team is similarly foregrounding his cultural significance to Black America, shifting attention from the charges to his legacy.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Gordon Hughes, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
The essay presents an alternate view of our hunter-gatherer history, foregrounding the feminine act of collecting.
—Chloe Schama, Vogue, 24 Feb. 2026
Like their future disciples in PC Music, Scritti Politti were giddy pop fans who approached the form as self-conscious outsiders, foregrounding its artificiality, pushing its bright colors to new extremes, aiming to make great pop records that also asked probing questions about what pop even is.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 15 Feb. 2026
One that was made on his own terms, foregrounding Magellan’s potentially abusive past behavior and mistreatment of natives everywhere.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 30 Jan. 2026
Its three episodes form a sort of social-science experiment, in which the stories’ multiple common elements serve as the control variables, foregrounding the independent ones, the things that change according to the families’ circumstances and their distinct pasts.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
By foregrounding things like ancient waterways and table tennis, China is deploying a sophisticated brand of cultural statecraft designed to soften the edges of a hardening geopolitical landscape.
—Xianda Huang, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
There’s something charmingly low-budget about the whole affair, devoid of splashy graphics or teasers about what’s to come and instead foregrounding the excitement of the stars.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
France said Combs’s team is similarly foregrounding his cultural significance to Black America, shifting attention from the charges to his legacy.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foregrounding
Verb
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This is neutral, velvety black with extreme shine, emphasizing health and reflection to create depth that feels fluid rather than harsh.—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
5 Mar. 2026
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Tobin voiced a need to not just add pass rush but fill a significant leadership void on that side of the ball, as well as emphasizing positional versatility.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Kremlin has since received thousands of the drones and begun producing them based on Iranian designs, highlighting their reproducible and scalable design.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2026
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His opponent James Fishback — a relative political unknown who has used racist and white nationalist rhetoric throughout his campaign — is highlighting the generational divide around extremism on the right in Florida.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Bankers are stressing that Press Ganey, which conducts patient satisfaction surveys for healthcare providers, is a safer bet because Medicare requires that data for reimbursements.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
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Earlier this month, a multi-party parliamentary commission recommended a series of reforms, including the reintegration of PKK members who renounce violence, while stressing that legal steps should be tied to state security institutions verifying that the group has surrendered its weapons.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Adebayo has never won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award, and there’s little Defensive Player of the Year buzz for Adebayo at the moment despite the Heat featuring a top-five defense this season.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
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Flying is the company’s second Nova-C lander named Athena featuring NASA’s PRIME-1 drill, to land a drill and mass spectrometer near the south pole of the moon in order to demonstrate the feasibility of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and measure the volatile content of subsurface samples.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foregrounding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foregrounding. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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