omniscience
AmericanEtymology
Origin of omniscience
1605–15; < Medieval Latin omniscientia, equivalent to Latin omni- omni- + scientia knowledge; see science
Explanation
Many people believe in the omniscience or all-knowing power of God. Omniscience comes from the Latin omnis meaning "all" and scientia meaning "knowledge." Omniscience is a state of possessing all the knowledge there is — pretty impressive. In a religious sense, people believe in a higher being that has omniscience. In literature, omniscience can refer to the perspective of a narrator who is all-knowing or has the ability to see into the minds of all his characters.
Vocabulary lists containing omniscience
Stories of Ourselves
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Part 2 Literary Terms (Unit 6)
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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.
Mr. Easterly is not a friend of rich-world technocrats or top-down dispensers of aid and omniscience who frequently fail to consult the very people—the Third World poor—for whose salvation they get paid handsomely.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
But at the core of wielding power, as she describes it, is a sort of omniscience.
From Slate • Aug. 19, 2024
His sense of omniscience is compensatory and more disturbing than ever.
From Salon • Sep. 21, 2023
Bjarnason’s sensation of an ominous omniscience lingers, but he has the wonder-inducing talent to not make you feel too bad about that.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2022
As always, my passes at omniscience are absurd, but you, of all people, should be polite to the part of me that comes out merely clever.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
