Synonyms for harbinger
- noun
- verb
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Herald — A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something
herald, precursor, forerunner, omen, premonition, augury, sign, forewarning, prophet, signal, messenger, predecessor, announcer, outrider, foregoer, forecomer, portender
Other
Verb
foretell, announce, annunciate formal
Definitions
- n. 1
A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something.
harbinger of danger; harbinger of doom; harbinger of spring
- v. 1
To announce or precede; to be a harbinger of.
Related words
- Word family
- harbinger-of-spring
Forms
- Plural
- harbingers → heralds, precursors, forerunners, omens…
- Past participle
- harbingered
e.g. harbingered → announced, annunciated…
Example sentences
- herald It was the lark, the herald of the morn, no nightingale.
- precursor Domestic corn's wild precursor was teosinte.
- omen The cap cloud above Mt. Fuji is said to be a good omen.
- forerunner Alchemy was the forerunner of modern chemistry.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| harbinger | rising | |
| herald | rising | |
| precursor | rising | |
| omen | rising | |
| forerunner | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- sign1, omen2
- 6 letters
- signal2, herald2, augury
- 7 letters
- prophet2
- 8 letters
- announce2, foretell2, outrider3, foregoer
- 9 letters
- messenger3, announcer3, precursor3, forecomer, portender
- 10 letters
- forerunner3, annunciate
- 11 letters
- predecessor4, premonition4, forewarning3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (omen2 = 2 syllables).