Word of the Day
: May 24, 2023

\AD-um-brayt\ verb

What It Means

Adumbrate is a formal verb with several meanings that all have to do with figurative shadows. It can mean “to foreshadow vaguely,” as in “a childhood interest in ants that adumbrated a career in biology”; it can mean “to suggest or outline partially,” as in “a few sentences that adumbrate the plan”; and it can mean “to overshadow or obscure,” as in “a cheerfulness not adumbrated by difficult circumstances.”

// The movie's most impressive feat was to pull off a plot twist perfectly adumbrated by one rather forgettable scene.

// The first chapter of the graphic novel deftly adumbrates her earliest memories.

// The joyous occasion was adumbrated by knowledge of what the next day was to bring.

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adumbrate in Context

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