foreshadowing

English

Verb

foreshadowing

1. present participle and gerund of foreshadow

Noun

foreshadowing (usually uncountable, plural foreshadowings)

1. (literature, usually uncountable) 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.

   • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:

     As an experienced editor I disapprove of backflashes, foreshadowings and tricksy devices […]

Related terms

• backshadowing
• sideshadowing

Translations

literary device

• Catalan: presagi (ca) m
• Finnish: enteily (fi), ennakointi (fi)
• French: augure (fr) m, présage (fr) m
• Georgian: მინიშნება (minišneba)
• German: Vorahnung (de) f
• Irish: tuar (ga) m
• Japanese: 伏線 (ja) (ふくせん, fukusen)
• Korean: 복선(伏線) (ko) (bokseon)
• Macedonian: пре́дзнак m (prédznak)
• Portuguese: augúrio (pt) m, presságio (pt) m
• Turkish: önceden ima etme
• Welsh: rhagfynegi (cy) m, rhagarwyddo m