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
-
While Cal State Fullerton isn’t the first campus to launch a Project Rebound program, the university has been among the forerunners in its expansion, becoming a model for Project Rebound programs at the other universities in the CSU system.—
Lou Ponsi,
Orange County Register,
28 Jan. 2025 -
Each night, Americans were reminded of the crisis on TV, as ABC created nightly reports called America Held Hostage with Ted Koppel, the forerunner to Nightline.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
29 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Like the compulsive twisting of a pencil into a sharpener, Khatami tightens the narrative rope to excruciating effect with a series of ominous foreshadowings.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 Jan. 2025
-
And because every number is loaded with callbacks and foreshadowings, both musically and lyrically, the rangy story is tied into a very tight thematic bundle.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Visitors are invited to park their cars and wander up the driveway to see cartoon characters and creatures heralding festive cheer.—
Patrick Connolly,
Orlando Sentinel,
19 Dec. 2024
-
In October 2022, the school held an inauguration ceremony heralding her arrival.—
Daniel I. Dorfman,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Humidity Think of humidity as the precursor to mold and mildew.—
Rabekah Henderson,
Southern Living,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Predicting earthquakes is not scientifically possible, and experts cannot determine definitively whether the seismic activity between the islands of Santorini and Amorgos is a precursor to a significantly larger earthquake, or is part of weeks or months of small or moderate intensity quakes.—
Elena Becatoros,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In politics, there are liars and better liars How the Biden administration helped avoid a coup in Guatemala China’s meddling in Taiwan election presages year of misinformation threats Need help keeping up with this tumultuous election?—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
12 Jan. 2024
-
The New Moon in Virgo, which occurs shortly after Mercury turns direct, presages really big beginnings throughout the zodiac.—
Jennifer Culp,
Them,
16 Aug. 2024
Verb
-
This simulation helps in predicting potential impacts and unforeseen outcomes that may arise from format adjustments.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
28 Dec. 2024
-
Meanwhile Chinese oil companies are predicting peak oil demand as widespread electric vehicle usage in the nation is replacing gasoline guzzlers.—
Christopher Helman,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
But coming in at a brisk 89-minute runtime, the feature is awkwardly compressed in its portrait of heartache and easily overwhelmed by the political portent of its subject.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2025
-
The Dead Zone maintains key big-picture threads from the book and movie — the malevolent rising-star politician, the apocalyptic portent — while taking advantage of its format, succeeding as both a procedural and a long-term story.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
22 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Butler was bothered after the discussion because Butler and his agent perceived that Heat officials were implying that Butler didn’t play his hardest in the Heat’s home win over the Pelicans on Wednesday.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
4 Jan. 2025
-
Two days later, Jerry Jones offered a reason for Elliott’s decrease in time on the field, once again implying that he was being saved for the latter part of the season.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Jan. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Thesaurus Entries Near prefiguring
Cite this Entry
“Prefiguring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefiguring. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share