Plainly
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harbinger
nounHAHR-bin-jer
meaning in plain English
Think of the first dark clouds that roll in before a storm. Those clouds are a harbinger—they tell you the storm is on its way.
Picture dark clouds as the harbinger—signs that a storm is about to roll in.
for example
The sudden drop in temperature was a harbinger of the snow that fell that night.
A harbinger is something that hints at what’s coming next. Like when the first crocuses push through the snow, they signal that spring is near.