foreshadowing

foreshadowing

English

Verb

foreshadowing

1. present participle 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

Finnish: enteily (fi), ennakointi (fi) French: augure (fr) m, présage (fr) m Georgian: მინიშნება (minišneba) German: Vorahnung (de) f Japanese: 伏線 (ja) (ふくせん, fukusen) Macedonian: пре́дзнак m (prédznak) Turkish: önceden ima etme