adumbrate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>adumbrate</strong> &#149; \AD-um-brayt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Adumbrate</em> is a formal verb with several meanings that all have to do with figurative shadows. It can mean “to foreshadow vaguely,” as in “a childhood interest in ants that adumbrated a career in biology”; it can mean “to suggest or outline partially,” as in “a few sentences that adumbrate the plan”; and it can mean “to overshadow or obscure,” as in “a cheerfulness not adumbrated by difficult circumstances.” </p> <p>// The movie's most impressive feat was to pull off a plot twist perfectly <em>adumbrated</em> by one rather forgettable scene. </p> <p>// The first chapter of the graphic novel deftly <em>adumbrates</em> her earliest memories.</p> <p>// The joyous occasion was <em>adumbrated</em> by knowledge of what the next day was to bring.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adumbrate">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“The lines <em>adumbrate</em> the fact that freedom was not attained on a platter of gold, but as a result of the collaborative efforts of the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom%20fighter">freedom fighters</a>, in a fierce battle with the oppressors.” — Mark Ogbinaka and Aghogho Akpome, <em>Gender &amp; Behaviour</em>, 1 Apr. 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Don’t <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throw%20shade">throw shade</a> our way if you’ve never crossed paths with <em>adumbrate</em>—the word's shadow rarely falls across the pages of casual texts. It comes from the Latin word <em>umbra</em>, meaning “shadow,” and is usually used in academic and political writing to mean “to foreshadow” (as in “protests that adumbrated a revolution”) or “to suggest or partially