as in to foreshadow
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the strife in Bloody Kansas in the 1850s adumbrated the civil war that would follow
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Then came the even hotter hot mess of the Producer Price Index, which tracks wholesale prices that businesses pay one another and tends to foreshadow changes to consumer prices.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
-
This act of violence, in hindsight, foreshadowed what was to come.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic.—
Jordan Puente,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
The titles that are less eagerly anticipated can wait another day.—
Adeel Hassan,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
The race took on the dimensions of a proxy battle between OpenAI and Anthropic, a clash of money and priorities that seems likely to prefigure other midterm contests.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
7 May 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
Verb
-
The pin positions were far more accessible than the previous two days, as McIlroy had predicted.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
-
That’s for our golf coverage team at Aronimink — Brendan Quinn, Gabby Herzig and Brody Miller — to predict.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
The analyst’s $182 price target implies that shares of TJX could rise 23% from here.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
17 May 2026
-
With Ebola’s serial interval of two to three weeks, 246 cases at declaration implies multiple generations of uncontrolled transmission.—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
On May 7, an M2-class solar flare heralded the arrival of an active sunspot.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
-
Burnham is seen by the bond market as leaning more to the left — a factor that has sent borrowing costs higher, with investors fearing a less conservative prime minister could herald more borrowing and public spending, and higher debt.—
Hugh Leask,Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Projecting into the future, Pritchard said the Pacers didn’t foresee another opportunity to land a center of Zubac’s caliber before the start of next season.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Kates does not foresee the Federal Reserve cutting rates anytime soon, particularly before the end of the year, adding that the ongoing conflict with Iran could even lead to interest rate hikes.—
Bri Buckley,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
