foreshadowing

Syllables: fore·sha·dow·ingUK/(ˌ)fɔːˈʃædəʊɪŋ/US/fɔɹˈʃædoʊɪŋ/

foreshadowing noun: synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story. Also the present participle and gerund of foreshadow.

Noun

foreshadowing (usually uncountable, plural foreshadowings)

(usually) Synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story.
- The roses blooming before Rose herself bloomed was excellent foreshadowing.
- As an experienced editor I disapprove of backflashes, foreshadowings and tricksy devices […]2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN
Synonyms:

foreshadow

Also used as

foreshadowing is also the present participle and gerund of foreshadow.

foreshadowing meaning in Malay and Indonesian

foreshadowing in Malay

literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story: imbas muka

foreshadowing in Indonesian

literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story: padahan

Synonyms of foreshadowing

foreshadow

Forms of foreshadowing

plural	foreshadowings

Origin of foreshadowing

From foreshadow (verb) + -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action; or forming present participles of verbs).

Words that rhyme with foreshadowing

Questions about foreshadowing

What does foreshadowing mean?: Foreshadowing means synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story.
What is foreshadowing in Malay?: Foreshadowing in Malay is imbas muka. See Foreshadowing meaning in Malay.
What part of speech is foreshadowing?: Foreshadowing is a noun.
How do you pronounce foreshadowing?: Foreshadowing is pronounced /(ˌ)fɔːˈʃædəʊɪŋ/ (UK).
What is the plural of foreshadowing?: The plural of foreshadowing is foreshadowings.

Words near foreshadowing in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: foreshadowing (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “foreshadowing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/foreshadowing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.