foreshadowing

noun

fore·​shad·​ow·​ing fȯr-ˈsha-də-wiŋ 

plural foreshadowings

: an indication of what is to come

If the history of the world were a novel, the events so strikingly chronicled in the photographs in this book … would seem a foreshadowing of the recent events …

—Ralph Novak

On this merry Christmas evening, however, no fears or dim foreshadowings of any coming event clouded our hearts or faces.

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

also : the use of such indications (as in a work of literature)

And, further, Rose is a genuine cliff-hanger, or page-turner, full of foreshadowing … and all the tried and tricky methods of creating suspense.

—John Simon

Synonyms

• augury
• auspice
• boding
• foreboding
• omen
• portent
• prefiguring
• presage

Examples of foreshadowing in a Sentence

the hero's strange encounter with a grave digger is often seen as a foreshadowing of his own death

Recent Examples on the Web

Modiri, who also appears as a high-ranking security services hostage negotiator in the film’s final section, inundates his screenplay with aural and visual foreshadowing. —Alissa Simon, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024

Episode writer Zachary Reiter knows exactly how to ham up the calm before the storm, warming us up with sentimental moments (like a mother preparing her son for his first date) and frisky foreshadowing (of course there’s a couple getting it on in the bathroom). —Laura Bradley, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2024

The narrative told in his recent form was the world’s most obvious foreshadowing. —Gabby Herzig, The Athletic, 14 Apr. 2024

Some recipients responded to the texts with anger and others with a sense of humor, but many agree that the messages seem to be a bleak foreshadowing. —Char Adams, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined above