Verb: prefigure pree'fi-g(y)u(r)
- Be a sign of something to come, esp. something important or bad
"These signs prefigure bad news";
- bode, portend, auspicate, prognosticate, omen, presage, betoken [archaic], foreshadow, augur, foretell, forecast, predict, foretoken
- Imagine or consider beforehand
"It wasn't as bad as I had prefigured"
Derived forms: prefigures, prefiguring, prefigured
Type of: bespeak, betoken [archaic], conceive of, envisage, ideate [informal], imagine, indicate, point, signal