Thesaurus results for HARBINGERS

harbingers 1 of 2

noun

plural of harbinger

as in forerunners

one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another her father's successful job interview was seen as a harbinger of better times to come

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

harbingers

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of harbinger

as in heralds

to give a slight indication of beforehand the hope that the housing slump does not harbinger a general economic recession

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of harbingers

Noun

Related What were once blips on the modern music timeline now feel like harbingers of things to come for 2027. — Leila Cobo, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026 Culture and History Crows and ravens have similarly eerie reputations as spooky harbingers of death or danger. — Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 31 Aug. 2026 Our results, just published in the journal Science, suggest that the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niños – two of the strongest in recent memory – may be harbingers of more extreme events to come as the planet warms. — Julia Cole, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026 Then, after a series of eerie harbingers, the Platts discover the power and water in the house have shut off in the aftermath of an intense storm, and the atmosphere outside has turned unsettling and oddly tropical. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026 The world looked to the social elite as the ultimate harbingers of style trends and sophistication, giving them a cultural cache and, in turn, a sense of power. — Moises Mendez Ii, InStyle, 29 June 2026 If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past. — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026 In recent years, there have also been reports of vandalism and attacks on robotaxis and delivery robots, which some see as harbingers of a high-tech future not everyone asked for. — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 17 Apr. 2026 Along with asparagus, hearty leafy greens, peas, and ramps, garlic scapes are among the first harbingers of an entire season of garden fun ahead. — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harbingers

Noun

Rather than try to replicate his forerunners’ styles of success, Ternus has so far played to his own strengths—which are also those of Apple, a company that first and foremost builds beautiful products that spark productivity, creativity, and joy.

— Andrew R. Chow, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Definition of forerunners

Verb

But having to navigate designing a hopeful film, one devoid of an antagonist that also heralds a positive view of AI, was a challenge in its own right.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Royal Caribbean heralds this ship for setting a new standard across the cruise industry for its water and waste management programs—93% of fresh water is produced on board via reverse osmosis, crew members sort trash for recycling, and so on.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of heralds

Noun

Ng, who is Jo Henderson’s oncologist, noted that her previous research found that women who ate more ultraprocessed foods had a higher risk of colon polyps that can be precursors to cancer.

— Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026
The coal and steel organization was the first among European institutions that were precursors to what eventually became the European Union.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of precursors

Verb

And the angelic youth Dorian Gray’s deadly descent into vanity and vice—ignited by a hubristic obsession with his own image—eerily foreshadows the grim trajectory of Wilde’s later years.

— Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Early on, there’s a moment that foreshadows what the real debate is (or should be).

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of foreshadows

Verb

With The Keepers, Black Tomato co-founder Tom Marchant predicts that in a world where nearly anything can be looked up or generated in seconds, human knowledge and connection are the ultimate luxuries.

— Jen Murphy, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026
Next, Meta will string the Muses together to create a team of helpful agents, Nguyen predicts.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of predicts

Noun

The doctor's group, known as ACOG, recommends hormone replacement therapy alongside certain antidepressants, nonhormonal medicines, and other treatments to address symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia and mood swings.

— Shannon Firth, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026
In those who do have symptoms, however, the most common are related to the lungs, including a persistent cough, shortness of breath or coughing up blood.

— Angelica Stabile , Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of symptoms

Verb

The finding implies that methanol masers are a common product of all planet-forming discs and therefore are produced by processes that are universal in star- and planet-birth, regardless of the protostar's mass.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Oct. 2026
This implies demand of roughly 120 million metric tons per year of green ammonia by mid-century.

— Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of implies

Browse Nearby Words

harbingering

harbingers

harbor

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Harbingers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harbingers. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of harbingers

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes