foreshadow

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /fɔrˈʃædoʊ/ UK /fɔːˈʃædəʊ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to indicate or suggest a future event beforehand

The dark opening scene foreshadows the tragedy to come.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to indicate or suggest a... presage portend prefigure augur heraldforebodeforetell betoken

Word family

Derived forms foreshadowingforeshadower

Related forms fore shadow

Etymology

A compound of fore- ('beforehand') and shadow (from Old English sceadu), meaning to cast a shadow before, hence to give an advance hint of something to come.

fore Old English sceadu Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# foreshadow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /fɔrˈʃædoʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /fɔːˈʃædəʊ/

## Meanings
1. to indicate or suggest a future event beforehand

## Examples
- The dark opening scene foreshadows the tragedy to come.

## Synonyms
- presage
- portend
- prefigure
- augur
- herald
- forebode
- foretell
- betoken

## Derived Forms
- foreshadowing
- foreshadower

## Related Forms
- fore
- shadow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fore
- Root: sceadu

## Etymology
A compound of fore- ('beforehand') and shadow (from Old English sceadu), meaning to cast a shadow before, hence to give an advance hint of something to come.

## AI Etymology
Foreshadow is a compound of fore- ('beforehand') and shadow (from Old English sceadu), meaning to cast a shadow before, hence to give an advance hint of something to come. The etymological trail includes Old English fore and Old English sceadu. As a verb, foreshadow means to indicate or suggest a future event beforehand. The same family is visible in derived forms such as foreshadowing and foreshadower and related forms such as fore and shadow. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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