as in to anticipate
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the strife in Bloody Kansas in the 1850s adumbrated the civil war that would follow
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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
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Earlier this week, the U.S. May consumer inflation report also came in cooler than anticipated.—
Nur Hikmah Md Ali,
CNBC,
13 June 2025
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The National Retail Federation also anticipated skyrocketing prices on clothing, household appliances, furniture and more.—
Dryden Pence,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Verb
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This late comeback against Jon Lester and an Athletics team that had looked like a powerhouse through the first half of the season foreshadowed the next two Octobers in K.C.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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These examples foreshadow this emerging path of development, distinct from the Industrial Age model of cheap-labor, high-scale manufacturing for export.—
Robert C. Wolcott,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Verb
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The Energy Information Administration, for example, predicts that solar generation capacity will eclipse that of coal midway through next year and blow past wind power by the end of 2026.—
Nick Thomas,
The Washington Examiner,
13 June 2025
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Many commentators are already predicting a Versant-Global Networks merger.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Its extreme hostility to the very idea of liberal governance, its skepticism of democracy, and its faith in the primacy of the wealthy over the law all prefigured the way that Trump and Elon Musk would assail key functions of government in 2025.—
Zack Beauchamp,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
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The widescreen, 35mm format prefigured IMAX and other high-density imagery in a way that still stuns on screen.—
John Wenzel,
The Denver Post,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Roughly 56% of analysts surveyed by FactSet have a buy rating on JPMorgan stock, and the average analyst consensus price target implies about 3% upside.—
Brian Evans,
CNBC,
15 June 2025
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This seems to imply that, for now, Sajet isn’t going anywhere.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2025
Verb
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When the full-length arrived, it was heralded as yet another artistic triumph.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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But now, as the internet heralds certain celebrities’ plastic surgery results, revealing the details of one’s own procedure(s) provides an opportunity to hold court in a positive light.—
Nicola Dall'Asen,
Allure,
4 June 2025
Verb
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Wind gusts of up to 40 mph and pea-sized hail (0.25 inches) are foreseen.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
13 June 2025
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The Royalton Chic hotel could not have foreseen that its operations would be substantial factors in the cause of Elijah Snow’s death, the Mexican property’s lawyers argued.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adumbrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adumbrate. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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