clairvoyant
having or claiming to have the power of seeing objects or actions beyond the range of natural vision: Not being clairvoyant, I did not foresee the danger of ignoring her advice.
of, by, or pertaining to clairvoyance: Unlike more talented witches, I had to make do with love potions and occasional clairvoyant visions.
a clairvoyant person: A clever clairvoyant could make a fortune in the stock market.
Origin of clairvoyant
1word story For clairvoyant
In the 19th century, the term clairvoyant was widely used in a medical context. An especially astute doctor might be able to see a patient’s symptoms and try to make a “clairvoyant diagnosis.” While some of these doctors were legitimate and extremely skilled, the term “clairvoyant physician” was generally used to describe your typical 19th-century quack.
As the meaning of clairvoyant started to shift, reference books of the time attempted to approximate the new uses of the word. The 1873 edition of The American Cyclopaedia describes a clairvoyant as someone who can see through opaque objects, therefore possessing the power to “read a book unopened, or a letter which is enclosed in a solid wood box.” Today, however, clairvoyant carries more spiritual connotations, and such skills would never be cheapened by freak-show displays like divining the text of an unopened book. Rather, the modern clairvoyant prefers only to “see” things that cannot be easily refuted by disbelieving skeptics.
popular references For clairvoyant
— The Clairvoyant: A 1934 film starring Claude Rains and Fay Wray.
— The Clairvoyant Journals: A conceptual art piece (1978) by poet Hannah Weiner. It was written in the form of a diary with 3 concurrent and contrasting voices narrating, and was performed live.
—“The Clairvoyant”: A 1988 song by the band Iron Maiden, purportedly inspired by the death of British psychic Doris Stokes.
Other words for clairvoyant
1 | psychic, prescient, visionary, second-sighted, telepathic; intuitive, empathetic; prophetic |
3 | psychic, telepathist, empath; prophet, visionary; diviner, foreteller, foreseer, forecaster, fortune-teller, medium, seer |
Other words from clairvoyant
- clair·voy·ant·ly, adverb
- Compare clairaudient.
Words Nearby clairvoyant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use clairvoyant in a sentence
Television Network, where he exhibited his clairvoyant skills for a wide range of celebrities.
Ed and Lorraine Warren, he a “demonologist” and she a clairvoyant, spent their lives investigating and combating the supernatural, which made them ideal protagonists for The Conjuring movie franchise based on their work.
The Real-Life ‘Demonic’ Murder That Inspired ‘The Conjuring’ | Nick Schager | June 11, 2021 | The Daily BeastSome choose to believe that these clairvoyants have other worldly insights that most people do not.
While some of these doctors were legitimate and extremely skilled, the term clairvoyant physician was generally used to describe your typical 19th-century quack.
I don’t think anybody was clairvoyant enough, wise enough to think that far down the road this was going to be a consequence.
The “clairvoyant camel” has picked Argentina over Germany in the World Cup final.
The Amazing Tale of Paul the Psychic Octopus: Germany’s World Cup Soothsayer | Emily Shire | July 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBecause the former commissioner at the center of the “newly re-burgeoning” IRS “scandal” is clearly a clairvoyant.
The Woman at the Center of the IRS ‘Scandal’ Must Be Clairvoyant | Michael Tomasky | June 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe faculty members here are neither clairvoyant nor peering over shoulders.
'It's Big Brother, Sort of, But With a Good Intent' | Justin Green | April 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt's not Dickens' finest work, but it may be one of his most clairvoyant.
It seemed as if Michel, in his own clairvoyant way, was already preparing to write Bush's memoirs.
Debussy is a man of unhampered and clairvoyant imagination, a dreamer with a far-wandering vision.
Aspects of Modern Opera | Lawrence GilmanBefore he had time to fly, one of them, with the rapidity of an arrow, struck his clairvoyant eye with a stick and burst it.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney HartlandAccording to these words Ezekiel was either an out-and-out deceiver, a wicked man, or, he was a clairvoyant.
The Prophet Ezekiel | Arno C. GaebeleinThe clairvoyant added that he would probably live to a great age and die in a foreign land—a prophecy which did not comfort him.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow PaineWith her face hidden by a thick vail, and accompanied by her maid she went to visit the clairvoyant who was spoken of so highly.
Jack Harkaway in New York | Bracebridge Hemyng
British Dictionary definitions for clairvoyant
/ (klɛəˈvɔɪənt) /
of, possessing, or relating to clairvoyance
having great insight or second sight
a person claiming to have the power to foretell future events
Derived forms of clairvoyant
- clairvoyantly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse