prefigure
verb
pre·fig·ure ˌprē-ˈfi-gyər 
especially British -ˈfi-gə
prefigured; prefiguring; prefigures
transitive verb
1
: to show, suggest, or announce by an antecedent type, image, or likeness
2
: to picture or imagine beforehand
prefigurement
ˌprē-ˈfi-gyər-mənt
noun especially British -ˈfi-gə-
Synonyms
- adumbrate
- forerun
- foreshadow
- harbinger
- herald
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
His style of painting prefigured the development of modern art. the first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring
Recent Examples on the Web The company’s latest financial results seem to prefigure this bleak prospect. 
George Calhoun, Forbes, 1 June 2022 But even as the spare language of her lines endows them with a monumental feel, their brevity and levity also prefigure the semiotically fraught short exchanges of the texting era. Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2021 The termites survive in duds, bombs, and forgotten one-offs like Dark City (1998), which combines elements that prefigure The Matrix with themes from Five Million Years to Earth. Samuel Goldman, The Week, 16 Sep. 2021 The weakness of their victory is related to the second, more general reason to watch the SBC: Big church splits can prefigure big national splits. Bonnie Kristian, The Week, 16 June 2021 These opening titles really seem to prefigure the Harry Potter movies. Emma Specter, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2021 Visits by Kerry to Saudi Arabia and Mexico before Glasgow could prefigure new commitments from both those countries. Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2021 Its remaining original construction — in the vernacular idiom, with touches that prefigure the Baroque, and an Orientalist flared red ceramic tile roof — dates to the late 1500s. New York Times, 24 Sep. 2021 As in life, guns prefigure and alter things, often irreparably. Jeffrey Ann Goudie, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2021 See More
George Calhoun, Forbes, 1 June 2022 But even as the spare language of her lines endows them with a monumental feel, their brevity and levity also prefigure the semiotically fraught short exchanges of the texting era. Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2021 The termites survive in duds, bombs, and forgotten one-offs like Dark City (1998), which combines elements that prefigure The Matrix with themes from Five Million Years to Earth. Samuel Goldman, The Week, 16 Sep. 2021 The weakness of their victory is related to the second, more general reason to watch the SBC: Big church splits can prefigure big national splits. Bonnie Kristian, The Week, 16 June 2021 These opening titles really seem to prefigure the Harry Potter movies. Emma Specter, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2021 Visits by Kerry to Saudi Arabia and Mexico before Glasgow could prefigure new commitments from both those countries. Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2021 Its remaining original construction — in the vernacular idiom, with touches that prefigure the Baroque, and an Orientalist flared red ceramic tile roof — dates to the late 1500s. New York Times, 24 Sep. 2021 As in life, guns prefigure and alter things, often irreparably. Jeffrey Ann Goudie, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Late Latin praefigurare, from Latin prae- pre- + figurare to shape, picture, from figura figure
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
prefigures
verb
as in foreshadows
to give a slight indication of beforehand the first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- foreshadows
- adumbrates
- predicts
- heralds
- implies
- anticipates
- harbingers
- foresees
- suggests
- foretells
- presages
- foreruns
- foreknows
- portends
- prophesies
- bodes
- alludes
- connotes
- forebodes
- prognosticates
- forewarns
- forecasts
- promises
- hints
- augurs
- intimates
- insinuates
- forbodes