What's the difference between bellwether and harbinger?

Bellwether


Definition:

  • (n.) A wether, or sheep, which leads the flock, with a bell on his neck.
  • (n.) Hence: A leader.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Click here to view the video In a way, Youssef's fate is a bellwether for the state of free speech in post-2011 Egypt.
  • (2) They see the trial as a bellwether for his administration's line on dissent – 18 group members have been arrested since March in a protracted crackdown , and many are still awaiting trial.
  • (3) Those responsible and accountable for the delivery of medical education locally must take the appropriate steps to ensure the training of doctors remains protected, particularly as medical training is so often a bellwether for the quality and safety of patient care, and because patients are directly at risk if the support and supervision of doctors in training is inadequate,” he wrote in the letter.
  • (4) The price of gyudon has become an unofficial bellwether for the health of the world’s third biggest economy, which has been beleaguered by more than two “lost decades” of stagnation as consumers have resolutely refused to start spending and lift their economy out of trouble.
  • (5) Nonetheless, with more stimulus in the pipeline, we still believe the economy will look stronger soon.” Corporations considered bellwethers of the global economy have also warned of a sharp slowdown.
  • (6) Morecambe and Lunesdale is a bellwether seat currently held by a Tory former hairdresser called David Morris – who, curiously, used to be a member of Rick Astley’s backing band – on an 866 majority and, like all down-at-heel seaside towns, is of interest to Ukip.
  • (7) But decisions made by voters in several cities and states could be an important bellwether of sentiment ahead of next year’s presidential elections.
  • (8) State of the state: Democrats are scrambling to hold on to their one US Senate seat for this New England bellwether state and to protect Shaheen, a former New Hampshire governor, one of 20 women in the upper chamber and a member of America’s only all-female congressional delegation.
  • (9) Womens’ rights, including the high-profile issue of driving, are another signifcant bellwether.
  • (10) But as well as the number of seats won or lost, Corbyn’s critics in parliament will also be closely watching the party’s performance in bellwether councils such as Crawley, where it currently has 19 seats against the Tories’ 18.
  • (11) But the improvement at Ford, a bellwether name in American industry, was of special significance, indicating that the business might finally have turned the corner.
  • (12) September is a critical month for determining the mood of advertisers rebounding from the quiet summer period, and analysts expected a modest single-digit decline at ITV1, which is considered a bellwether for the health of the commercial TV industry.
  • (13) A League-backed candidate from Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia won the bellwether race in Liguria, and the League even won 20% of the vote in the leftwing bastion of Tuscany in regional elections on 31 May, much to the dismay of Renzi, who was the mayor of Florence before he became prime minister.
  • (14) Twigg could be described as a bellwether candidate.
  • (15) Both companies are seen as bellwethers of the wider economy and analysts are predicting both firms to report a decline in earnings.
  • (16) Though Germany’s second-least populous state, state elections in the Saarland region are being treated as an important bellwether ahead of federal elections in September, with some commentators predicting the region could become the first in the old west of the country to be governed by a coalition between the centre-left and the left parties.
  • (17) But Watford has elected MPs from all three main parties over the past century and is a classic bellwether seat, one which changes hands when the governing party changes: it did in 1906, 1945, 1964, 1979 and again in 1997.
  • (18) Had we just relied on the old idea that Missouri was the ultimate bellwether , as it once was, we would have thought that John McCain was in good position in 2008.
  • (19) Michigan , the first major industrial state to vote, is considered a bellwether for the November election.
  • (20) Gardner only just edged Udall in Jefferson County , a bellwether for Colorado.

Harbinger


Definition:

  • (n.) One who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when traveling, to provide and prepare lodgings.
  • (n.) A forerunner; a precursor; a messenger.
  • (v. t.) To usher in; to be a harbinger of.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) However, sepsis-associated CNS dysfunction appears to be as important a harbinger of excess mortality as renal or pulmonary dysfunction in septic patients.
  • (2) A strong hi-tech presence was a harbinger of better health; a dependence on older manufacturing industries was associated with poorer health.
  • (3) "May the supreme court’s move be a harbinger of other, more responsible, decisions to come."
  • (4) It's not obvious what this harbinger of doom is supposed to be.
  • (5) Acquired isolated oculomotor palsies in some cases are not necessarily a harbinger of serious disease.
  • (6) Lastly, the occurrence of coagulase-negative staphylococcal peritonitis is a harbinger of future episodes of peritonitis caused by a variety of organisms.
  • (7) In the former illness, reduced blink rate signifies a worsening of the illness and a significant increase in blink rate in patients treated with dopamine agonist may be a harbinger of agonist-induced dyskinesia.
  • (8) We feel this is a harbinger of what could come, for what it indicates in terms of what the future holds."
  • (9) Allende's election three years before at the head of a socialist-communist coalition had a significance far beyond Chile itself, being widely seen as the harbinger of similar projects in countries such as France and Italy, as well as the beginning of a "second Cuba" in Latin America itself.
  • (10) Isis sees itself as a harbinger of the end of times.
  • (11) EL: The first psychiatrist I saw subscribed very much to the same view as my friend and the GP – that my voice (and bear in mind, it's still only a single voice at this time) was a sinister harbinger of something much more serious.
  • (12) It presents to the anesthesiologist the immediate problem of airway management but it also must be recognized by the physician as a harbinger of malignant hyperthermia.
  • (13) "Apple's new Siri Assistant, unique to the new 4S, is a powerful harbinger of the future use of mobile devices – not just the power of voice but, more importantly, the ability to contextualise a statement or request.
  • (14) Proteinuria is the clinical hallmark of diabetic nephropathy and the harbinger of progressive renal disease.
  • (15) In the depressed elderly, characteristic EEG changes occur that may help distinguish major depression from pseudodementia; however, it should be considered that pseudodementia may be a harbinger of primary dementia.
  • (16) Mesangial cell proliferation, which is a harbinger of glomerulosclerosis, occurs in both immune and nonimmune glomerulopathies.
  • (17) BP BP was the harbinger of privatisations when James Callaghan's Labour government parcelled off a chunk of the oil giant in the 1970s.
  • (18) Hezbollah's lead role in the battle for Qusair is widely seen as a harbinger of a broader role for the Lebanese Shia militia in Syria, having instilled momentum into a regime military that had struggled to gain ground in many parts of the country since last summer.
  • (19) Significant spontaneous gross hematuria, gastrointestinal bleeding or epistaxis appear to represent harbingers of intracranial hemorrhage and constitute indications for emergency splenectomy.
  • (20) "Perhaps the way the job is defined needs to change, and this is the harbinger of bigger changes to come."