foreshadowers
Hints of coming
Foreshadowers are things or people that hint at what's to come.
A novelist plants foreshadowers throughout the early chapters.
Storm clouds serve as foreshadowers of bad weather.
The word appears rarely—most writers prefer the verb foreshadow or the noun foreshadowing.
Those claiming foresight
- soothsayersThose who foretell events
- oraclesSources of divine guidance
- augursForetells or predicts
- sibylsFemale prophets of antiquity
clairvoyants · visionaries · harbingers · prophets · diviners · prognosticators · mediums · psychics
Advance notices of danger
- forebodingsAnxious expectations of harm
- harbingersSignals of what's ahead
- portentsOminous indicators of future events
- premonitionsIntuitive feelings about future events
doom · menace · dread · death-knells · ravens
Indirect suggestions
- cluesHints toward answers
- portentsOminous indicators of future events
- omensProphetic signs or warnings
- precursorsThings preceding others
setup · telegraphing · prefiguring · adumbration · motifs · symbolism · imagery · irony
Unresolved dramatic conclusions
- hintsIndirect suggestions
- teasesMocks playfully
- setupHow something is arranged
- anticipationState of awaiting something
buildup · dread · uncertainty · intrigue · mystery · unease · apprehension · nail-biting
seers
Those claiming foresight
- soothsayersThose who foretell events
- oraclesSources of divine guidance
- augursForetells or predicts
sibyls · clairvoyants · visionaries · harbingers · prophets · diviners · prognosticators · mediums · psychics · astrologers
warnings
Advance notices of danger
- forebodingsAnxious expectations of harm
- harbingersSignals of what's ahead
- portentsOminous indicators of future events
premonitions · doom · menace · dread · death-knells · ravens
hints
Indirect suggestions
- cluesHints toward answers
- portentsOminous indicators of future events
- omensProphetic signs or warnings
precursors · setup · telegraphing · prefiguring · adumbration · motifs · symbolism · imagery · irony · subplot
cliffhangers
Unresolved dramatic conclusions
anticipation · buildup · dread · uncertainty · intrigue · mystery · unease · apprehension · nail-biting · edge-of-seat
foreshadowersflashbacks
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
revealers · callbacks · expositors · denouements · revelations
foreshadowerssurprises
Unanticipated occurrences
bombshells · curveballs · plot twists · red herrings · misdirections