as in forerunner
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
the preaching of John the Baptist is generally regarded by Christians as a prefiguring of the ministry of Jesus
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in foreshadowing
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prefiguring
Noun
-
Indeed, VistaVision was the forerunner of IMAX 65mm, with its horizontal orientation.—
Bill Desowitz,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2025 -
The company plans to recreate the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, by editing the genome of each species’ closest living relative to make a hybrid animal that would be visually indistinguishable from its extinct forerunner.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The foreshadowing of their downfall is more interesting than anything else Porsha is bringing to the show in what was supposed to be her triumphant return.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2025
-
The Dreamgirls star provided some foreshadowing of the big day in a November 2006 interview with Cosmopolitan.—
Emy LaCroix,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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To this day, headlines are heralding the impending demise of critical cancer, heart disease, and terminal research, but these headlines are fearmongering at their finest.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Others doubled down on the idea that the robot displayed the first signs of conscious aggression, heralding a future in which AI no longer passively follows human commands.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
CSAs have often been precursors to broader agreements among countries.—
Ngaire Woods,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
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Many people at Saturday’s protest worried that the ruling could be the precursor to other judgments that diminish the rights of transgender people.—
Kwiyeon Ha and Pan Pylas,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The result is chaos, bewilderment and delay that presages rising consumer prices.—
Peter S. Goodman,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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There’s a kind of implicit prayer in this that the withering of today’s Hollywood system is a presage for something better, giving the entire production a painful, nostalgic quality that tugs at your chest even as what unfolds before you is remarkably dumb.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The 49ers being the sixth favorite to win the Super Bowl next year seems insane and more based on past success rather than predicting future success.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
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Indeed 44% of the respondents surveyed think that AI’s effect on individual agency and ability to act independently is likely to be more negative than positive with only 16% predicting a fairly equal split between positive and negative change.—
Tracey Follows,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Weinstein’s thuggish joke was just one portent of the edgy, borderline sinister air that permeated the party from the very beginning.—
Scott Huver,
The Hollywood Reporter,
28 Feb. 2025
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As the two settle into their new house, Michael Shanks, the film’s Australian writer-director, pulls an anything-goes series of shocking portents.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Analyst Joseph Spak lowered his price target to $51 from $64, implying 11% upside.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2025
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Citi kept its buy rating with a $265 per share price target, implying 46% upside to Friday’s close.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
7 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Prefiguring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefiguring. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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