telepathy
Americannoun
noun
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Etymology
Origin of telepathy
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Explanation
That thing that happens when somehow you know in your head exactly what your brother wants for dinner even though he hasn’t said a word? That could be telepathy, communication that involves none of the known senses. Scientists can’t quite figure out if telepathy really is possible, but you can still use the word to describe those times when you seem to know what someone else is thinking. With telepathy, people communicate entirely in the mind without saying anything. If you walk into your favorite coffee shop and without a word the guy at the counter hands you your double latte, that could be telepathy. Or it could be you just order that all the time.
Vocabulary lists containing telepathy
Common Senses: Path ("Feeling")
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Far and Away: Tele
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Among the Hidden
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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.
Playing the Dead’s “Blues for Allah” on this tour — an LP rooted in Middle Eastern scales, pirouetting time signatures and improvisational telepathy — put him in communion with his old friend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
It’s silent, and also a weird form of telepathy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025
Lee is fascinated by the plant, specifically the rumblings he’s heard that it can be used for telepathy.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2024
Mork uses telepathy to summon characters’ memories, in the form of scenes from the sitcom’s first five years.
From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
The inherent telepathy that made us such a good team at soccer/non-American football helped us with Rook too.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
