as in to foreshadow
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring
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Recent Examples of prefigure
The details are what captivate; chrome strips on the hood and sides, and exquisite chrome hood hinges prefiguring the decklid hinges on Ferrari’s 275 GTB/4.
—
Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2024
Woody’s facial-recognition research in the 1960s prefigured all these technological breakthroughs and their queasy ethical implications.
—Shaun Raviv, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2020
The index, which measures wholesale prices – and thus generally prefigures changes in the CPI – was unchanged in September from August, defying expectations from a Dow Jones survey of a 0.1% increase.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
Westchester County during the Revolutionary War prefigured the Wild West before that concept had entered a dime novelist’s mind.
—Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for prefigure
Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2024
Woody’s facial-recognition research in the 1960s prefigured all these technological breakthroughs and their queasy ethical implications.
—Shaun Raviv, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2020
The index, which measures wholesale prices – and thus generally prefigures changes in the CPI – was unchanged in September from August, defying expectations from a Dow Jones survey of a 0.1% increase.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
Westchester County during the Revolutionary War prefigured the Wild West before that concept had entered a dime novelist’s mind.
—Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for prefigure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prefigure
Verb
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Stylistically, The Interrogation foreshadows the conventions that would characterize Wang’s later works.—
Philip Tinari,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
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As with previous outings, death is foreshadowed before flashing back one week earlier to the guests’ arrival at the elite five-star White Lotus resort.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Women possessed by the gods were oracles, predicting the future in cryptic utterances.—
Vipin Bharathan,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
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Tremble didn’t have the 2024 season that many predicted.—
Alex Zietlow and,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This implies a very strong Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 2.1% (vs. 19.0% for S&P 500).—
Trefis Team,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
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Jonas’ price target of $430 implies shares can rebound 93.6% over the next year from Monday’s closing level.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The fruit was heralded as far back as the year 1279 as the preferred fruit of the royal court and emperors.—
Philip Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
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When the Archaeopteryx was discovered around 1861, it was heralded as evidence that birds were soaring in the skies by the end of the Jurassic Period.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA TODAY,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But Kline said the scale of the warehouse is something that homeowners could never have anticipated.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
9 Mar. 2025
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Every organization anticipates retirements and resignations.—
Sherzod Odilov,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prefigure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefigure. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
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