first signs
- earlyOccurring before expected
- symptomsIndicators of disease
- warningAlert about danger
- onsetStarting point of something
- beginningInitial stage of something
hints · clues · indicators · dawn · stirrings · inklings · emergence · budding · awakening · precursors · harbingers · omens · foreshadowing · glimmers · traces · whispers · sprouting · threshold
temporal sequence
first signsdeath throes
Final moments of dying
aftermath · culmination · conclusion · last gasps · endgame
certainty/confirmation
first signsconclusive evidence
Proof that ends debate
confirmation · incontrovertible evidence · proof positive · smoking gun · certainty