Meaning & use
foretaste
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A small experience of something that gives you an idea of what it will be like when it happens fully.
Grammar: Often followed by 'of' and a noun: a foretaste of success.
Patterns
- a foretaste of something
- give someone a foretaste of something
The brief trial was a foretaste of the hard work ahead.
Winning the local competition gave her a foretaste of national fame.
The chilly morning was a foretaste of the winter to come.
Word forms
| plural | foretastes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a foretaste of things to come
- The new policy is a foretaste of things to come.
- give a foretaste
- The preview gave us a foretaste of the full performance.
- a foretaste of success
- His first paycheck was a foretaste of success.
- a foretaste of freedom
- The weekend trip was a foretaste of freedom after exams.
Synonyms and how they differ
- preview
- A preview is a showing of something before it is generally available; a foretaste is a personal experience that hints at what is to come.
- sample
- A sample is a small part of something that you can try; a foretaste is more about anticipating a future experience.
- taste
- In this sense, 'a taste of' is similar but less formal and often used in everyday speech.
Word family
- taste noun
- The flavor of something, or a small experience of it.
Commonly confused: foretaste or aftertaste?
foretaste vs aftertaste
Aftertaste is the taste that remains after you swallow; foretaste is an early hint of something to come.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition: The first day of training was a foretaste ___ the challenges ahead.
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition is 'of': a foretaste of something. 'For' and 'to' do not fit this fixed pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “foretaste”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.