adumbration
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adumbration
- /ˌædʌmˈbɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ UK
- /-əm-/ UK
- /ˌædəmˈbɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ US
Rhymes with -eɪʃən
Where it comes from
From Latin adumbrātiō (“sketch; outline, silhouette; pretence, semblance”) + -ion (suffix indicating a condition or state). Adumbrātiō is derived from adumbrāre (present active infinitive of adumbrō (“to represent an object with light and shade, to shade; to represent in outline, to outline, silhouette, sketch; to cast a shadow on, overshadow, shade; to copy, counterfeit, imitate”)) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions). Adumbrō is derived from ad- (prefix meaning ‘to, towards’) + umbrō (“to cast a shadow, to shade; to overshadow”) (from umbra (“shade; shadow; ghost”)).
noun adumbrations
- The state of being in shadow or shade; (countable) a shadow. If it be true, that there is a Firſt Being who has drawn or created all the reſt from nothing, man is truly his image; [...]. But an image, is but an image ſtill, and can be but an adumbration or ſhadow of the true perfect Being.
- A faint sketch; a brief representation, an outline. There is another Difference of Sounds, which wee call Exteriour, and Interiour. [...] Wee ſhall therefore enumerate them, rather than preciſely diſtinguiſh them; Though (to make ſome Adumbration of that wee meane) the Interiour is rather an Impulſion or Contuſion of the Aire, than an Eliſion or Sect
- The supposed practice of displaying only outline of a charge (“image displayed on an escutcheon”), sometimes filled in with a darker shade than the field. ADUMBRATION, [in Heraldry] an abſolute taking avvay of the Charge or Thing born, ſo that nothing of it remains but the bare Proportion of the out Lines.
- A rough or symbolic representation; a vague indication of what is to come, a foreshadowing. [W]here there is an obſcurity too deep for our Reaſon, 'tis good to ſit down with a deſcription, periphraſis, or adumbration; for by acquainting our reaſon how unable it is to diſplay the viſible and obvious effects of nature, it becomes more humble and ſubmiſſive unto the ſubtilties of faith: [...]
- The form of an object as seen by an observer. Of necessity a physical thing can be given only "one-sidedly;" and that signifies, not just incompletely or imperfectly in some sense or other, but precisely what presentation by adumbrations prescribes.
Translations
Every language
noun faint sketch; brief representation, outline
| Español | adumbracion, boceto, bosquejo, croquis, esbozo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Adumbration, Anriss, Entwurf, Schilderung, Skizze, Umrandung |
| Italiano | abbozzo, schizzo |
noun state of being in shadow or shade
| Deutsch | Abschattung, Beschattung |
|---|---|
| Italiano | adombramento, adombrazione |
noun rough or symbolic representation
| Français | ébauche, ébauchement |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Abbild, Abriss, Metapher, Schattenriss, Umriss |
noun vague indication of what is to come — see also foreshadowing
| Deutsch | Andeutung |
|---|
noun form of an object as seen by an observer
| Deutsch | Abbild, Abschattung, Projektion, Schatten, Schattenriss |
|---|
Talk about this word "adumbration." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/adumbration. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. adumbration. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/adumbration "adumbration." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/adumbration.Cite this
@misc{adumbration_2026,
title = {adumbration},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/adumbration},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
