Home

Prefigure

Prefigure is a verb meaning to indicate or represent something beforehand; to prefigure something is to foreshadow, foreshow, or serve as a sign or archetype of a later event or development. In literary and rhetorical usage, prefiguring can involve motifs, symbols, or plot elements that anticipate future outcomes without revealing them directly. In religious contexts, the term is often used in typology, where persons, events, or institutions in sacred texts are understood as prefiguring later revelations or fulfillments (for example, Old Testament figures seen as prefiguring Christ).

In secular discourse, prefigure can describe early indicators that foreshadow political, social, or cultural shifts; and

Related terms include prefiguration (the noun form) and prefigurative (the adjective form). The concept is closely

it
appears
in
discussions
of
prefigurative
politics,
a
strand
of
activist
theory
that
seeks
to
enact
in
the
present
the
social
relations
and
practices
intended
for
a
future
society.
The
term
emphasizes
that
the
present
can
embody
aspects
of
a
desired
future,
serving
as
a
practical
or
symbolic
preview
of
what
may
come.
associated
with
foreshadowing
and
typology,
though
prefigure
often
carries
a
sense
of
deliberate
or
interpretive
anticipation
rather
than
mere
hint.