Foreshow
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A manifestation in advance; a prior indication. obsolete
"The fore-shew of their inclination whilest they are young is so uncertaine […] that it is very hard, (yea for the wisest) to ground any certaine judgement […]."
- 1 To show in advance; to foretell, predict. archaic, transitive
"Amid his senses' giddy wheel, / Did he not desperate impulse feel, / Headlong to plunge himself below, / And meet the worst his fears foreshow?— […]"
- 2 foretell by divine inspiration wordnet
- 3 To foreshadow or prefigure. obsolete, transitive
"But if the rays break forth out of the middle, or dispersed, and its exterior body, or the out parts of it, be covered with clouds, it foreshows great tempests both of wind and rain."
Example
More examples"Amid his senses' giddy wheel, / Did he not desperate impulse feel, / Headlong to plunge himself below, / And meet the worst his fears foreshow?— […]"
Etymology
From Middle English foreschewen, from Old English forescēawian (“to foreshow, foresee; preordain, decree, appoint; provide, furnish with”), equivalent to fore- + show. Cognate with Dutch voorschouwen, German vorschauen.
From fore- + show.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.