clairvoyance
Americannoun
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the supernatural power of seeing objects or actions removed in space or time from natural viewing.
-
quick, intuitive knowledge of things and people; sagacity.
- Synonyms:
- vision, discernment, penetration, intuition
noun
-
the alleged power of perceiving things beyond the natural range of the senses See also extrasensory perception
-
keen intuitive understanding
Etymology
Origin of clairvoyance
First recorded in 1840–50; from French, equivalent to clairvoy(ant) clairvoyant + -ance -ance
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Explanation
Clairvoyance is a magical kind of intuition. You could attempt to prove your clairvoyance by predicting which team will win the Superbowl. Have you ever heard of the "sixth sense," the mysterious ability to know something that can't be observed? That's clairvoyance. The ability to tell the future, read someone's mind, or communicate with dead people could all be described as clairvoyance. The French prefix clair, or "clear," combined with voir, "to see," gave us the word clairvoyance.
Vocabulary lists containing clairvoyance
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Clairvoyance is a hit-and-miss aftereffect of writing stories.
From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2019
In his 1938 self-portrait "Clairvoyance," a painter looks at an egg as a model, but draws a bird on the canvas.
From Reuters • Sep. 22, 2016
Just listen to the soaring screech of his guitar on the band’s 1986 debut album, Clairvoyance: that scuzzy, distortion-laden sound.
From The Guardian • Feb. 3, 2016
Clairvoyance literally means clear seeing; but in spiritualism it has a technical meaning, and may be either objective or subjective.
From Occultism and Common-Sense by Willson, Beckles
Within a few years, the curiosity of the community has been excited, and large numbers of persons greatly interested, in various phenomena, known as Mesmerism, Animal-Magnetism, Clairvoyance, Pathetism, Neurology, Psychology, Biology, Electro-Biology, &c. &c.
From A Brief Commentary on the Apocalypse by Bliss, Sylvester
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
