Did you know?
The Meaning of Clairvoyant Is Clear
In French, "clairvoyant" literally means "clear-seeing," mentally or optically. The term made a brief appearance in English in the 17th century, as an adjective suggesting a keen sense of perception, but it did not become firmly established in the language until the 19th century. Today we most often apply this adjective to someone who essentially has ESP, an unexplainable ability to know or perceive things that others cannot. (We also now use "clairvoyant" as a noun for a person who has this ability.) But although "clairvoyant" is nearly always used in the ESP sense these days, the allusion to special powers frequently isn't dead serious. ("Are you clairvoyant? How did you know I was going to wear my flamingo shirt?")
Examples of clairvoyant in a Sentence
Vulture, 8 Sep. 2023
Upon finding out the house is haunted, the two enlist the help of a psychic (Haddish), a priest (Owen Wilson), a paranormal tour guide (LaKeith Stanfield), a historian (Danny DeVito) and the clairvoyant Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) to cleanse their new abode of its cursed spirits.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2023
Later in the episode, Raven-Symoné recalled connecting with relatives on her mother’s side through an emotional psychic session with clairvoyant Henry in 2016.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2023
Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen Ashley Greene played the caring, clairvoyant vampire Alice Cullen in her breakout role.
—Alexia Fernández, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2023
But while Davis’ warnings proved almost clairvoyant, IVOL hasn’t grabbed the brass ring.
—Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2023
Naive individuals in the early stages of their IT careers may think that CIOs are clairvoyant oracles who conceive and implement revolutionary technology initiatives that transform the business prospects of their companies.
—Mark Settle, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
Like its fellow water signs, Cancer and Pisces, Scorpio is extremely clairvoyant and intuitive.
—Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, 31 July 2020
Eggleston’s pictures are clairvoyant.
—Vulture, 6 Jan. 2023
Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 31 July 2023
Upon finding out the house is haunted, the two enlist the help of a priest (Wilson), a psychic (Tiffany Haddish), a paranormal tour guide (Stanfield), a historian (Danny DeVito) and Curtis’ clairvoyant Madame Leota to expel their new abode of its cursed spirits.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2023
During the third and fourth centuries ad, when the ancient world was shaken to its core and everything was changing, there were so many astrologers, clairvoyants, and soothsayers that the popes took fright.
—Olga Tokarczuk, Harper's Magazine, 6 Jan. 2023
Is there a difference between a psychic medium and a clairvoyant?
—Dallas News, 29 Aug. 2022
Wendell and Wild reunites beloved duo Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key as titular demon brothers Wendell (Key) and Wild (Peele), wreaking havoc and ultimately striking against the prison industrial complex with the help of punk clairvoyant Kat and her new friend, trans artist Raúl.
—Lindsay Lee Wallace, SELF, 20 Dec. 2022
One of the children is a clairvoyant.
—Steve Smith, courant.com, 23 July 2021
Meanwhile, a clairvoyant is someone who can see into the future and provide fortune-telling services.
—Dallas News, 8 Sep. 2022
What’s the difference between a psychic medium and a clairvoyant?
—Dallas News, 8 Sep. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clairvoyant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near clairvoyant
Cite this Entry
“Clairvoyant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clairvoyant. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
clairvoyant
1 of 2 adjective
clairvoyant
2 of 2 noun
Medical Definition
clairvoyant
1 of 2 adjective
clairvoyant
2 of 2 noun
More from Merriam-Webster on clairvoyant
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for clairvoyant
Nglish: Translation of clairvoyant for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of clairvoyant for Arabic Speakers
Share