clairvoyance

[ klair-voi-uhns ]
See synonyms for clairvoyance on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the supernatural power of seeing objects or actions removed in space or time from natural viewing.: Compare clairaudience, clairsentience.

  2. quick, intuitive knowledge of things and people; sagacity.

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Origin of clairvoyance

1
First recorded in 1840–50; from French, equivalent to clairvoy(ant) clairvoyant + -ance -ance

Other words for clairvoyance

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clairvoyance in a sentence

  • That which goes by the names of clairvoyance and spiritualism is based solely upon an unreasoning credulity.

  • After a time clairvoyance was replaced by spiritualism, and I was again challenged to test the virtue of mediums.

  • As a test of Sibyl's clairvoyance, this was not very satisfactory.

    Mystic London: | Charles Maurice Davies

British Dictionary definitions for clairvoyance

clairvoyance

/ (klɛəˈvɔɪəns) /


noun
  1. the alleged power of perceiving things beyond the natural range of the senses: See also extrasensory perception

  2. keen intuitive understanding

Origin of clairvoyance

1
C19: from French: clear-seeing, from clair clear, from Latin clārus + voyance, from voir to see, from Latin vidēre

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