foreshadowing means synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), a literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 72 out of 100.
foreshadowing is pronounced /(ˌ)fɔːˈʃædəʊɪŋ/.
Why “foreshadowing” is a great word
FORESHADOWING — [Noun] A literary device whereby an author hints at or symbolically represents plot developments that will occur later in the story. From foreshadow (verb) + -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting the action of a verb). Unlike flashback, which interrupts the narrative to retrieve a past event, or revelation, which is a climactic disclosure of the new, foreshadowing is the quiet seeding of the inevitable. It is the unseasonable chill in a midsummer garden, the heirloom pistol casually noted in a drawer, or the minor chord held beneath a cheerful melody—a quiet, deliberate placement of a ghost that will not be seen until the final page, whispering the story's secrets to the attentive reader.
noun
- Synonym of foreshadow (“a suggestion of something in advance”); specifically (usually uncountable, literature, narratology), 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.”