prefigure

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prefigure

/pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/

Where it comes from

From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”).

verb prefigures · prefiguring · prefigured

To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand. Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, all prefigure NRx urban futures.
To predict or foresee.

noun prefigures

That which prefigures or appears to predict; a harbinger. Quite different is the way in which the tomboy girled the rebel narrative. In recent years, queer theorists have taken a deep interest in the tomboy as a prefigure for the butch dyke.

Thesaurus

verb

Translations

Every language

verb show ahead of time

Español	prefigurar
Français	préfigurer

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Cite this

MLA

"prefigure." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/prefigure. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

prefigure. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/prefigure

Chicago

"prefigure." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/prefigure.

BibTeX

@misc{prefigure_2026,
  title = {prefigure},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/prefigure},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}