futurist

American  

[fyoo-cher-ist] / ˈfju tʃər ɪst /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a follower of futurism, especially an artist or writer.

2. Theology. a person who maintains that the prophecies in the Apocalypse will be fulfilled in the future.

3. Also futurologist a person whose occupation or specialty is the forecasting of future events, conditions, or developments.

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adjective

1. futuristic.

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

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

In my 2012 essay in the Futurist, I concluded that we might no longer be able to get out of the mess we were creating for ourselves, but we could get through it.

From Salon • Sep. 29, 2024

I had hardly knocked at the door before I had an inkling of how painful to the author of "The Futurist" the process of slumping might be.

From A Woman of Genius by Austin, Mary Hunter