Meaning & use
foreshadow
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To be an early sign that something will happen later, especially in a story.
Grammar: Takes an object: the dark clouds foreshadow a storm.
Patterns
- foreshadow something
- foreshadow that ...
- be foreshadowed by something
The first chapter foreshadows the hero's death.
Those early losses foreshadowed the team's final defeat.
A sudden silence foreshadowed bad news.
verbtransitive
To give a warning or hint about a future event before it happens.
Grammar: Often used in the passive: the crisis was foreshadowed by smaller problems.
Patterns
- foreshadow something
- be foreshadowed by something
The report foreshadowed a rise in prices.
His resignation was foreshadowed by weeks of rumors.
Word forms
| third person singular | foreshadows |
|---|---|
| past tense | foreshadowed |
| past participle | foreshadowed |
| -ing form | foreshadowing |
Common combinations
- foreshadow events
- The opening scene foreshadows events later in the novel.
- foreshadow a tragedy
- The broken mirror foreshadows a tragedy.
- foreshadow the ending
- The author foreshadows the ending with a brief dream.
- be foreshadowed by
- The war was foreshadowed by years of tension.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- foreshadowing noun
- The use of hints about later events in a story.
Commonly confused: foreshadow or overshadow?
foreshadow vs overshadow
Overshadow means to make something seem less important or to cast a shadow over it, not to hint at the future.
Practice
The dark clouds at the start of the film ______ the coming storm.
Choose one answer.
The subject 'clouds' is plural, so the base form 'foreshadow' fits the present tense. 'Foreshadows' is singular, 'foreshadowing' needs a helping verb, and 'foreshadowed' would make the sentence past tense, which does not match the present-time context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “foreshadow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.