prefigure

[ pree-fig-yer ]
/ priˈfɪg yər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR prefigure ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), pre·fig·ured, pre·fig·ur·ing.

to show or represent beforehand by a figure or type; foreshadow.
to picture or represent to oneself beforehand; imagine.

Origin of prefigure

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin praefigūrāre. See pre-, figure (v.)

OTHER WORDS FROM prefigure

Words nearby prefigure

preferred pronoun, preferred provider organization, preferred stock, preferred-provider organization, prefiguration, prefigure, prefinished, prefix, preflight, preform, preformation

Words related to prefigurement

augury, auspice, foreboding, forerunner, harbinger, indication, portent, premonition, presage, prognostic, prognostication, prophecy, sign, straw, warning, writing, bodement, foretoken

Example sentences from the Web for prefigurement

  • If the prefigurement was at any point vague it was none the less arresting.

    Gideon's Band |George W. Cable

  • In each of these existences the larva or mask is the prefigurement of the succeeding existence.

    The Insect |Jules Michelet

  • It was not quite easy to see why this had been the case—it had not been precisely Peter's own prefigurement.

    The Tragic Muse |Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for prefigurement

prefigure
/ (priːˈfɪɡə) /

verb (tr)

to represent or suggest in advance
to imagine or consider beforehand

Derived forms of prefigure

prefigurement, noun