Words / C2

AD-umbr-ayt/ˈædʌmbreɪt/

To adumbrate is to outline faintly, or to foreshadow (formal): adumbrate a plan, the risks were adumbrated. An outline (already in the dictionary) is the everyday noun of main points; to augur (already in the dictionary) is to be a sign of what will happen, not to sketch it. Opaque (already in the dictionary) is hard to see through. A slogan is not a faint drawing of the n.

Meaning

To outline faintly, or to foreshadow (formal).

Examples

• “Adumbrate the n in the abstract; a slogan is not a sketch.”
• “An outline is a short description of main points (already in B1). To augur is to be a sign (already in C2). Opaque is hard to see through (already in C2). A faint but dated figure can still be exact. A motto that never states the cell is branding. Write the number; then the shadow-play.”

Good to know

Outline faintly; foreshadow (formal). Everyday: outline / sketch (already in this dictionary). Close: augur (already in C2). Contrast: opaque (obscure — already in C2). A slogan is not an n.

Near in meaning

outline, sketch, foreshadow, hint

New