Synonyms

adumbrate

American

[a-duhm-breyt, ad-uhm-breyt] / æˈdʌm breɪt, ˈæd əmˌbreɪt /

verb (used with object)

adumbrated, adumbrating

to produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.
to foreshadow; prefigure.
to darken or conceal partially; overshadow.

adumbrate British

/ ædˈʌmbrətɪv, ˈædʌmˌbreɪt /

verb

to outline; give a faint indication of
to foreshadow
to overshadow; obscure

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

adumbration noun
adumbrative adjective
adumbratively adverb

Etymology

Origin of adumbrate

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin adumbrātus “shaded,” past participle of adumbrāre “to shade,” from ad- ad- + umbr(a) “shade, shadow” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023