foreshadow
fore·sha·dow/fɔːˈʃædəʊ/verb, noun
foreshadow is spelled F-O-R-E-S-H-A-D-O-W: 10 letters and 3 syllables (fore·sha·dow). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, foreshadow means “To suggest (someone or something) in advance; to prefigure, to presage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in foreshadow?
| Letters | 10: F-O-R-E-S-H-A-D-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: fore·sha·dow |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is foreshadow?
Foreshadow appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce foreshadow?
- /fɔːˈʃædəʊ/
- /ˌfɔːˈʃædəʊ/
- /fə-/
As a noun (“A suggestion of something in advance; a harbinger, a portent”): /ˈfɔːˌʃædəʊ/, /ˈfɔɹˌʃædoʊ/.
Foreshadow has 3 syllables, split fore·sha·dow in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-foreshadow.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-foreshadow.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of foreshadow
- foreshadows present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- foreshadowing participle, present
- foreshadowed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does foreshadow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To suggest (someone or something) in advance; to prefigure, to presage.
- 2
rareOf a person: to have an intuition or premonition about (something); to forebode.
noun
- 1
A suggestion of something in advance; a harbinger, a portent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Foreshadow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to suggest (someone or something) in advance – see also prefigure, presage:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | augurer, présager |
| German | andeuten |
| Portuguese | pressagiar |
| Spanish | agorar, agüerar (desus.), augurar, prefigurar, premostrar, presagiar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does foreshadow come from?
The verb is derived from fore- (prefix meaning ‘before with respect to time, earlier’) + shadow (“to shade, cloud, or darken”, verb). The noun is derived from fore- + shadow (“faint and imperfect representation”, noun), probably modelled after the verb which is attested earlier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).