as in foreshadowed
to give a slight indication of beforehand
the first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring
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Recent Examples of prefigured
That prefigured, in a much smaller and less consequential way, Iran’s own actions in blocking the Strait of Hormuz during the current crisis.
—
Ioana Emy Matesan, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Chess by telegraph also prefigured chess played through other means of telecommunications.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025
The dynamic prefigured the White House of Bush 43, which the Veep largely staffed, and substantially dominated.
—Karl Vick, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
Your 2018 book, The Lies That Bind, seems to have prefigured the backlash against a certain way of talking about identity—as essential or at least fixed—that was prevalent in the 2010s.
—Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025
Ioana Emy Matesan, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Chess by telegraph also prefigured chess played through other means of telecommunications.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025
The dynamic prefigured the White House of Bush 43, which the Veep largely staffed, and substantially dominated.
—Karl Vick, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
Your 2018 book, The Lies That Bind, seems to have prefigured the backlash against a certain way of talking about identity—as essential or at least fixed—that was prevalent in the 2010s.
—Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prefigured
Verb
-
The moment was foreshadowed a week earlier when Gritty posted a photo on TikTok of the Penguins’ mascot.—
Ryan Brennan
April 23,
Kansas City Star,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The moment was foreshadowed a week earlier when Gritty posted a photo on TikTok of the Penguins’ mascot with Gritty lurking behind it, doing his signature staredown.—
Ryan Brennan
April 23,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The book auction, and the invisible rearrangements in power that made the auction possible, heralded a new era in American publishing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Shannon was less heralded out of Savannah State but made eight Pro Bowls, mostly with the Broncos, and won three Super Bowls.—
Todd Holcomb,
AJC.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
These galaxies do not follow the relations predicted by either the external field effect or the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, demonstrating that such an effect is not universal.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The algorithms are improving faster than predicted.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Initial move-ins are anticipated by the 2028 ski season.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
28 Apr. 2026
-
It was also noted that the project is coming in at a price lower than anticipated.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Here, Venus sets the stage for romantic chemistry that is built upon what is said, texted, joked about and implied.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Through amnesty, Johnson implied that these individuals, who had committed treason, had somehow been wronged.—
Horace D. Ballard,
Artforum,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prefigured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefigured. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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