as in forerunners
one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another
her father's successful job interview was seen as a harbinger of better times to come
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in heralds
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the hope that the housing slump does not harbinger a general economic recession
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harbingers
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Few harbingers are more promising than the Swedish singer and producer Robyn.
—Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2025
Pressure is also building in pockets of the labor market that are typically harbingers of broader stress.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025
The surfers, initially viewed by some as welcome curiosities and by others as nuisances, became harbingers of economic salvation through tourism, now the dominant industry, though still a relatively new one.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Keep an eye on these state elections Could these statewide elections be harbingers of what's to come in the 2026 midterms?
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
These could be harbingers of bigger things to come.
—Big Think, 13 Oct. 2025
One of the most worrisome harbingers of future affordability is that Florida added more than 700,000 units with gross rents higher than $1,200 monthly between 2012 and 2022.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
Eclipses are harbingers of change, often bringing intense shifts in perspective and catapulting us into new realities.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Few harbingers are more promising than the Swedish singer and producer Robyn.
—Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2025
Pressure is also building in pockets of the labor market that are typically harbingers of broader stress.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025
The surfers, initially viewed by some as welcome curiosities and by others as nuisances, became harbingers of economic salvation through tourism, now the dominant industry, though still a relatively new one.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Keep an eye on these state elections Could these statewide elections be harbingers of what's to come in the 2026 midterms?
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
These could be harbingers of bigger things to come.
—Big Think, 13 Oct. 2025
One of the most worrisome harbingers of future affordability is that Florida added more than 700,000 units with gross rents higher than $1,200 monthly between 2012 and 2022.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harbingers
Noun
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Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The primacy of a central meeting space can be traced to the Greek Empire with the agora, among other forerunners.—
Jeanne Bonner,
CNN Money,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Its appearance on the horizon heralds the rising of the Dog Star Sirius, the brightest of all stars, about 17 minutes later.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Widespread showers across the Bay Area on Wednesday are expected to taper off Thursday before light rain Friday morning heralds the arrival of an atmospheric river Friday afternoon.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Something that this new reality is forcing all of us to contemplate is whether or not any of the Oscar precursors — the award shows that precede the Oscars, and often claim to predict them — still provide any real sense of where the Academy is headed.—
Scott Feinberg,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Polish police released footage of the operation showing dozens of drums and tanks containing the precursors stored in various warehouses, as well as processing labs raided by heavily armed investigators.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The move foreshadows a mandate on purchasing domestic AI silicon, according to a report from The Information.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The film smartly foreshadows what will befall Alma and Maggie and Hank.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The girls seemed to be having a great time during these performances, interacting with fans by reacting to their costumes and signs, and creating a Candybong wave.—
Laura Sirikul,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Many marchers also referenced the killing of Renee Nicole Good, with signs honoring both victims and calling for accountability.—
Eva Andersen,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But the Opta supercomputer predicts that Qarabag will finish 20th, with Atletico, City and Barcelona sneaking into the top eight over PSG, Newcastle and Chelsea.—
Eduardo Tansley,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
And in 2023 DeepMind released AlphaMissense, another AI tool that predicts how mutations in the regions of the genome that do generate proteins affect gene function.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Until recently, treatment focused almost entirely on managing symptoms rather than altering the underlying biology of the disease.—
William A. Haseltine,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
What are common symptoms of a heart attack?—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Liverpool book, King’s biography implies, was part of a painful, covert search for a different way to write.—
Christopher Tayler,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
That implies that the stock could plunge 70%.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harbingers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harbingers. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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