futurist
Americannoun
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(sometimes initial capital letter) a follower of futurism, especially an artist or writer.
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Theology. a person who maintains that the prophecies in the Apocalypse will be fulfilled in the future.
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Also futurologist a person whose occupation or specialty is the forecasting of future events, conditions, or developments.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of futurist
From the Italian word futurista, dating back to 1835–45. See future, -ist
Explanation
A futurist is someone who studies and predicts events in the future. A futurist might predict, based on past and current trends, which brands of cars will be most popular in 30 years. There are many different kinds of futurists, from scientists who forecast the future effects of climate change to marketers who try to anticipate what teenagers will be desperate to spend money on in five years. All futurists have in common a focus on the future — and sociologists who are futurists call their field futurology. The earliest definition of futurism referred to the early 20th century art movement known as futurism.
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.
Futurist Scott Smith explains why risk is on the rise.
From Slate • May 13, 2026
“That is roughly the same amount of PC users that used the internet in 1996,” says ARK Invest’s Chief Futurist Brett Winton External link.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Futurist Tracey Follows thought the 1995 programme got a lot of big ideas right, but missed two of the biggest themes of the last 30 years - the spread of big tech and social media.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2024
I made these comments in a 2012 essay entitled “Whatever happened to Western civilization?” in the Futurist, the magazine of the U.S.-based World Future Society.
From Salon • Sep. 29, 2024
Thinks the loss of La Giaconde a far more serious event than a revolution, and regards the Futurist school pretty much as the Home Secretary regards the militant suffragists.
From The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley by Tracy, Louis
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.
