adumbration

English

Etymology

From the Latin adumbrātiō, from adumbrō.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /adʌmˈbɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

adumbration (plural adumbrations)

1. (obsolete, art) Shading.
2. A faint sketch; an outline, a brief representation.
3. (figuratively) A rough or symbolic representation of something.
   • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin 2011, p. 238:

     The merest adumbration of an apology on Baron Veen's part would clinch the matter with a token of gracious finality.

4. (heraldry) The shadow or outline of a figure.
5. (literature) A vague indication of what is to come.