as in foreshadowed
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring
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Recent Examples of prefigured
In July 1962, Froio prefigured her lifelong involvement with the Hamptons by writing a piece for WWD about what was selling at the boutiques in West Hampton, commenting on the merchandise at stores called Le Sorelle (The Sisters) and Treasure Trove.
—
Lorna Koski, Footwear News, 11 June 2026
Projected on an obelisk, this narrowest of histories prefigured the commemorative distortions to follow.
—Greg Allen, ARTnews.com, 7 June 2026
That prefigured, in a much smaller and less consequential way, Iran’s own actions in blocking the Strait of Hormuz during the current crisis.
—Ioana Emy Matesan, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Chess by telegraph also prefigured chess played through other means of telecommunications.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025
The dynamic prefigured the White House of Bush 43, which the Veep largely staffed, and substantially dominated.
—Karl Vick, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
Your 2018 book, The Lies That Bind, seems to have prefigured the backlash against a certain way of talking about identity—as essential or at least fixed—that was prevalent in the 2010s.
—Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025
Lorna Koski, Footwear News, 11 June 2026
Projected on an obelisk, this narrowest of histories prefigured the commemorative distortions to follow.
—Greg Allen, ARTnews.com, 7 June 2026
That prefigured, in a much smaller and less consequential way, Iran’s own actions in blocking the Strait of Hormuz during the current crisis.
—Ioana Emy Matesan, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Chess by telegraph also prefigured chess played through other means of telecommunications.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025
The dynamic prefigured the White House of Bush 43, which the Veep largely staffed, and substantially dominated.
—Karl Vick, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
Your 2018 book, The Lies That Bind, seems to have prefigured the backlash against a certain way of talking about identity—as essential or at least fixed—that was prevalent in the 2010s.
—Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prefigured
Verb
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Were clues about the finale foreshadowed in The Sopranos?—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
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That probably foreshadowed Burke's ability to improve the shape of his secondaries.—
Eno Sarris,
New York Times,
9 June 2026
Verb
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And his drive hasn’t faltered since; now, Brunson is heralded for saving the struggling franchise after Saturday’s victory.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
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Getty Images In what is being heralded as the largest IPO in Wall Street history, SpaceX has gone public at a nearly $2 trillion market cap with Elon Musk confirmed as the world’s first trillionaire by Forbes.—
Martine Paris,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Kim predicted that Japanese live-action productions and Thai content are poised for broader international success, while Zameczkowski echoed the growing global appeal of Japanese IP.—
Lin Ying-Hsuan,
Variety,
17 June 2026
-
Exciting times could lie ahead for the US wine industry, Mansour predicted.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Rarely has a 0-0 draw at a World Cup been so eagerly anticipated… and then celebrated.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
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The Newsom administration has attempted creative efforts to shrink CDCR’s budget, such as hiring outside consultants to find operations efficiencies, but those endeavors have resulted in less savings than initially anticipated.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
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The title’s implied hi-jinks—Amish teens unleashing their suspenders and chugging BuzzBallz—belie the sound’s fragile electricity.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
15 June 2026
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That implied just 700 seats remained unsold — which clearly undersold the huge stretches of empty space.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prefigured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefigured. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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