What does "foreshadowing" mean?

Synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story.

What is a synonym for "foreshadowing"?

Common synonyms include: adumbration, adumbrative, augury, foreboding, foreshadow, foretoken.

How do you pronounce "foreshadowing"?

Pronounced //(ˌ)fɔːˈʃædəʊɪŋ//.

Foreshadowing

//(ˌ)fɔːˈʃædəʊɪŋ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story. uncountable, usually
"The roses blooming before Rose herself bloomed was excellent foreshadowing."
2
the act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand wordnet

Verb

1
present participle and gerund of foreshadow form-of, gerund, participle, present

Adjective

1
indistinctly prophetic wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

adumbration adumbrative augury foreboding foreshadow foretoken

Example

More examples

"The skilled use of foreshadowing in a story can keep the audience hooked in anticipation."

Etymology

From foreshadow (verb) + -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action; or forming present participles of verbs).

Related phrases

literary device

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.