visionary
Americanadjective
-
given to or characterized by fanciful, not presently workable, or unpractical ideas, views, or schemes.
a visionary enthusiast.
- Synonyms:
- impracticable, impractical
- Antonyms:
- practical
-
given to or concerned with seeing visions.
-
belonging to or seen in a vision.
-
unreal; imaginary.
visionary evils.
- Synonyms:
- chimerical, illusory, fancied
-
purely idealistic or speculative; impractical; unrealizable.
a visionary scheme.
- Synonyms:
- unrealistic
-
of, relating to, or proper to a vision.
noun
-
visionaries
plural
-
a person of unusually keen foresight.
-
a person who sees visions.
-
a person who is given to audacious, highly speculative, or impractical ideas or schemes; dreamer.
adjective
-
marked by vision or foresight
a visionary leader
-
incapable of being realized or effected; unrealistic
-
(of people) characterized by idealistic or radical ideas, esp impractical ones
-
given to having visions
-
of, of the nature of, or seen in visions
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of visionary
Explanation
You've got big ideas. Crazy ideas. But forward-thinking ideas — ideas that just might change the way the world works. You're considered a visionary. Visionaries are ahead of their time, always thinking creatively. You could say that a visionary can envision what the future holds and come up with solutions that fit that picture. Those wild ideas aren't always met with appreciation though. Skeptics think that visionaries aren't grounded in reality. And usually the visionaries tell them to stop being so shortsighted!
Vocabulary lists containing visionary
Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
30 GRE Words Beginning with "T" "U" "V" and "W"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
To the world, Hussle was known as a Grammy-nominated artist, visionary entrepreneur, and South L.A. community leader.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
“This visionary project reflects Tyson’s commitment to providing quality education and opportunities,” a 2024 news release for the school stated.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
She said the school would now look for "visionary individuals" who could bring "serious investment" to the project, as well as governments and local authorities.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Originally built in 1962, the home, which is listed with Thomas Atamian of Coldwell Banker Realty, is described as having been “thoughtfully designed with a visionary architectural aesthetic inspired by Philippe Starck.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Don’t be afraid of my being a blessing to him,” said Estella; “I shall not be that. Come! Here is my hand. Do we part on this, you visionary boy—or man?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
For decades, gaming subsidized artificial intelligence, forging the careers of today’s AI visionaries and providing the scaffolding for major AI breakthroughs.
From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026
Gehry bequeathed blueprints and models, sketches and concepts, for his large and devoted team of younger architects and next-generation visionaries equipped to fabricate our way out of angst.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026
The visionaries of the early Space Age didn’t worry much about solar radiation, coronal mass ejections, galactic cosmic rays, psychological stress from isolation, and cost-benefit ratios.
From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2025
None of that is likely to happen, at least not the way these galaxy-brain visionaries imagine.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025
Nobody was admired more than so- called free soloists: visionaries who ascended alone, without rope or hardware.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
