Foreshadow: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Foreshadow verb. To hint at or signal something that will happen later, especially in a story.
How to say it
for-SHAD-oh/fɔːˈʃadəʊ/
3 syllables, stressed on the second (SHAD). Forms: foreshadows, foreshadowed, foreshadowing.
Foreshadow in a sentence
The loaded rifle on the wall in the first act foreshadows a gunshot before the curtain falls.
Early sales slumps foreshadowed the company's collapse.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- presage
- prefigure
- hint at
- signal
Where foreshadow comes from
From fore, before, and shadow, as if a coming event cast its shadow ahead of it.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Early sales slumps _____ the company's collapse.
- comprise
- peruse
- foreshadow
Show the answer
foreshadow: Early sales slumps foreshadowed the company's collapse.