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to foreshadow

to foreshadow

16 6.2
To give a small sign that something will happen in the future
  • verb
  • /ˈfɔːrˌʃæd.oʊ/
translation icon : presagiar
  • The director used subtle clues to foreshadow the tragic ending of the film.
  • foreshadowing events
  • foreshadow a future
  • foreshadowed the change

So even Mark knows of them but simply foreshadows them and doesn't narrate them.

Examples

  • Now, the Bible reflects, broadly speaking, a symbolic movement through 3 ages, while foreshadowing a 4th.

  • Men's courses in life foreshadow certain ends.

  • And this might foreshadow some of what we get into later on regarding your current research on education.

  • What details in the real world foreshadow those in the dream world?

    Fiction book (1999)
  • How could you have foreshadowed this is where it's heading?

  • So, Yep, I, I hope that doesn't foreshadow what this year is bringing for me.

  • It's foreshadowing the fact that he's gonna come back from the dead.

  • The following examples demonstrate that the introductory descriptions of women foreshadow their contributions to the plot.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The main ideas in the Cairo speech were foreshadowed in an article Obama wrote for Foreign Affairs in 2007.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Your battle foreshadows America's triumph over the forces of terror.

Synonyms

to predict
vsto foreshadow
812 3.0

To say what will happen in the future

offers a suggestive warning rather than a definite prediction
to foresee
vsto foreshadow
77 3.9

To know or expect something before it happens

gives an external sign or warning rather than inner certainty
to forecast
vsto foreshadow
54 2.5

To say what will probably happen using information, for example about weather or business

gives an indirect hint rather than an analytical estimate
to foretell
vsto foreshadow
41 7.0

To say what will happen in the future

gives a simpler hint rather than declaring exact future events
to announce
vsto foreshadow
38 3.9

To show that something will happen soon, often by a sign you notice

offers a general signal or hint rather than a formal declaration
to prophesy
vsto foreshadow
28 7.4

To say what will happen in the future, often claiming it comes from a god

gives a general human warning rather than a divinely inspired revelation
to bode
vsto foreshadow
16 7.2

To be a sign that something good or bad will happen

gives a neutral hint about future events without moral valence
to portend
vsto foreshadow
  • Formal
13 8.4

To show that something, often bad, will probably happen

signals future events more broadly rather than stressing calamity
to anticipate
vsto foreshadow
7 5.8

To happen earlier and show what will come later

provides a sign pointing ahead rather than merely happening earlier
to presage
vsto foreshadow
  • Literature
5 8.8

To show that something bad will happen

gives a milder suggestion rather than a clear omen
to augur
vsto foreshadow
4 8.6

To be a sign that something will happen

offers a general indication rather than a specific forecast or omen
to prognosticate
vsto foreshadow
  • Formal
3 9.3

To say what will happen in the future using clues

offers a general signal rather than a technical or expert prediction
to betoken
vsto foreshadow
  • Archaic
1 9.3

To be a sign of something

suggests future occurrence in a broader, less literal way
to prefigure
vsto foreshadow
  • Literature
1 8.0

To be a sign that something will happen later

gives a plain warning or hint rather than a prior representation
to annunciate
vsto foreshadow
  • Literature
9.9

To show that something will happen soon

gives a gentler suggestion rather than a definite overt sign
to auspicate
vsto foreshadow
  • Archaic
9.9

To say what will happen by reading signs

gives a plain warning or hint without ritual or omen use
to forebode
vsto foreshadow
8.4

To seem to show that something bad will happen

gives a neutral indication rather than focusing on bad outcomes
to foreshow
vsto foreshadow
  • Archaic
9.9

Predict an event from a sign or dream

gives a general hint rather than claiming divine revelation
to vaticinate
vsto foreshadow
  • Archaic
9.9

To say what will happen in the future because someone has spiritual power

gives ordinary signs or warnings rather than supernatural pronouncements
to previse
vsto foreshadow
  • Archaic
9.9

To know something before it happens

gives a sign rather than claiming certain prior knowledge

How Predictive

to predict
812 3.0
to foreshadow
16 6.2
presage
  • Literature
1 8.7
to hint
136 2.0
to suggest
1.6

Surface Forms

foreshadow infinitive
foreshadowed past participle
foreshadowing present participle
foreshadows third person singular

Morphology

foreshadow = shadow (transparent) = fore + shadow

The meaning 'to indicate beforehand' is a clear metaphorical extension of 'fore-' (before) + 'shadow' and is directly inferable from the components.

Etymology

Foreshadow comes from the parts fore- ('before') and shadow ('dark shape' or 'sign'). So, to foreshadow is to give a hint or warning before something happens.