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
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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.
A generous benefactor to academia, Bigelow also gave millions to the University of Nevada during the 1990s to study supposed psychic phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance and the possibility of life after death.
From Scientific American • Aug. 25, 2023
Longworth has come to be known for her cinematic clairvoyance, or at least her ability to channel this on the podcast, her voice often described as dreamy.
From Salon • Jul. 15, 2023
He also said that his medium was clairvoyance, or “telepathia.”
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2022
So as 2021 draws to a close, let me flex my clairvoyance abilities anew.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2021
None of us has, and few of us would want, a power of clairvoyance that would expose to us everyone else’s private thoughts.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
