1: a sign or warning that something is going to happen
2: predecessor, ancestor
how to use it?
1.a few isolated sales were the forerunner of a massive run on the stock exchange.
2.the invention of the microscope in the seventeenth century was the forerunner of a new age in science and medicine.
word quiz
we've already given you one synonym. which answer below contains another synonym of "forerunner"?
a. hansom
b. precursor
c. sage
d. announcement
key
[b]
your choice of answer b foretells a great future with words. "precursor," along with "harbinger" and "herald," is a synonym of "forerunner." "forerunner" is used for anything that serves as a sign. "precursor" applies to a person or thing paving the way for the success or accomplishment of another. ("mozart and beethoven were precursors of brahms and later composers.") "harbinger" and "herald" both apply, chiefly figuratively, to one that proclaims or announces the coming or arrival of a notable event ("the team's early victory was the harbinger of a winning season," and "crocuses are a herald of the coming spring").
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