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noun

1
as in diviner
one who predicts future events or developments according to Greek myth, Cassandra was a visionary who was endowed with the gift of inerrant prophecy but fated to never be believed

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
as in dreamer
one whose conduct is guided more by the image of perfection than by the real world 19th-century visionaries who founded short-lived communities in which everyone was supposed to live in perfect peace and harmony

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective visionary contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of visionary are chimerical, fanciful, fantastic, imaginary, and quixotic. While all these words mean "unreal or unbelievable," visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.

visionary schemes

How is chimerical related to other words for visionary?

Chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic.

chimerical dreams of future progress

When might fanciful be a better fit than visionary?

In some situations, the words fanciful and visionary are roughly equivalent. However, fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.

a teller of fanciful stories

When can fantastic be used instead of visionary?

The meanings of fantastic and visionary largely overlap; however, fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief.

a fantastic world inhabited by monsters

When is imaginary a more appropriate choice than visionary?

Although the words imaginary and visionary have much in common, imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination.

an imaginary desert isle

When could quixotic be used to replace visionary?

While in some cases nearly identical to visionary, quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense.

a quixotic crusade

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of visionary
Adjective
Bejo will play Alice Guy Blaché in Alice, the first time the visionary’s story has been told on screen. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025 Sir John is a visionary makeup artist and creative director whose artistry has shaped some of pop culture’s most iconic beauty moments. Refinery29, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
On the heels of the Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s curation of a sprawling exhibition for the 50th anniversary of Jaws, the institution will extend its collaboration and partnership with Steven Spielberg for a retrospective dedicated to the visionary filmmaker, to unveil in 2028. Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025 One of our last great visionaries is gone. Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for visionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for visionary
Adjective
  • Indian actor Ahaan Panday makes his debut with the Bollywood film Saiyaara which was hailed as the unofficial third film in Mohit Suri’s hit romantic franchise Aashiqui.
    Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Text messages to his romantic partner, a transgender male roommate, allegedly include a confession and instructions to delete their exchange.
    Amanda Castro Hannah Parry Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Employers increasingly wonder whether campuses are cultivating independent thinkers or just cautious followers.
    Sarah Hernholm, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The sum dwarfs most acquisitions this year — and marks TIFF’s first eight-figure deal in several editions — underlining the resilience of genre cinema at a time when studios and streamers alike are cautious.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • That spells trouble in the Indo-Pacific, a watery region where military leaders and Beltway diviners believe a war over Taiwan could erupt as soon as 2027.
    Colin Demarest, Axios, 8 Mar. 2025
  • The diviner then asks a question in a yes-or-no format while tapping the enclosure to encourage the spider or crab to emerge.
    Michelle Aroney and David Zeitlyn, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • From vengeful resurrections to satanic rituals, shoplifters waging war on capitalism to secret cults, shadow selves to harrowing births, these genre-defying films crown the Dolls as auteurs, protagonists, dreamers, and disruptors.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
  • My friend, the late Dr. Dorothy I. Height, once described me as a dreamer with a shovel in my hands.
    John Hope Bryant, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Jars of thick honey can feel messy or impractical for travel.
    Footwear News, Footwear News, 12 Sep. 2025
  • As hotels compete for increasingly discerning customers, designs perceived as impractical or uncomfortable can quickly backfire in the age of viral social media.
    Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Nowadays, these routes and addresses can sometimes call to my mind the Camino Real—the old Spanish road lost and buried but commuted upon daily—or that mythic expanse of the Mediterranean where Odysseus lost his way and people live and work to this day.
    Manuel Muñoz, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
  • For baseball aficionados, the name Sandy Koufax is almost mythical.
    Steve Futterman, NPR, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • But Eliasen is careful not to let scope creep derail initial implementations.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.
    JP Mangalindan, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The prophets of biblical Israel demand justice and care for the stranger, widow, and orphan.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Visionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/visionary. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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