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
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While his Late Night forerunner Letterman was probably the comedic polestar of Generation X—gruff, cynical, and biting the hand that fed—O’Brien became a bedrock influence for the next generation of Millennial comics.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025 -
The New York Dolls were forerunners of punk, and the band's style -- teased hair, women's clothes and lots of makeup -- inspired the glam movement that took up residence in heavy metal a decade later in bands like Faster Pussycat and Mötley Crüe.—
MARK KENNEDY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
arkansasonline.com,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Markets test Trump As stocks whipsawed this month, volatility gripped Treasuries and the dollar broadly weakened, leaving investors wondering whether this was just a bout of extreme abnormality or a foreshadowing of more turmoil to come.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
30 Apr. 2025
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In a bit of foreshadowing, Minnesota set a school record when that half dozen went to the NFL Scouting Combine this winter, although that isn’t a one-to-one comparison.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
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
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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
-
Tort claims are typically filed as precursors to a potential lawsuit.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
22 May 2025
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Gleason worked as a senior adviser to the U.S. Digital Service, the precursor to DOGE.—
Melissa Quinn
May 21,
CBS News,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
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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Mapping features is not the same as fully predicting behavior.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And the portents were not just in Henderson’s and Nuzzo’s paper.—
David Zweig,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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Matthew stresses royalty, prefacing the birth with heavenly portents; afterward, Magi bear royal gifts to a future king.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 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 2 Jun. 2025.
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