Advertisement
Advertisement
harbinger
[hahr-bin-jer]
noun
a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald.
anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign.
Frost is a harbinger of winter.
Synonyms: , , , ,a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train, etc., to provide or secure lodgings and other accommodations.
verb (used with object)
to act as harbinger to; herald the coming of.
harbinger
/ ˈɑːɪԻə /
noun
a person or thing that announces or indicates the approach of something; forerunner
obsoletea person sent in advance of a royal party or army to obtain lodgings for them
verb
(tr) to announce the approach or arrival of
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of harbinger1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of harbinger1
Example Sentences
The mistreatment of Black people is a harbinger of the mistreatment of all Americans.
There’s a way of looking at OK Go’s emphasis on visuals that depicts the band as a harbinger of an era when “musician” is just another word for “content creator.”
Modern Western culture caricatures vultures as undertakers, grim harbingers of death and hardly ideal images of maternal love.
It’s hardly a harbinger of rosy times to come when a financial columnist starts recommending mindfulness strategies.
In its heyday, "Venus and Mars" proved to be a harbinger of things to come, eventually selling more than four million copies.
Advertisement
When To Use
Harbinger most commonly means an omen or a sign of something to come.Harbinger can also mean a person sent ahead to make people aware that someone else is coming (such as a king) or to make preparations (such as for an army), but these meanings are much less common. Harbinger can also be used as a verb meaning to act as a sign or omen.Example: These flowers are always the first to bloom, so people consider them harbingers of spring.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse