visionary
VIZH-uh-ner-ee
/ˈvɪʒənɛri/
A person with original, forward-thinking ideas about what the future will or could be like (noun); thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom (adjective).
A visionary is not just a dreamer; they possess the strategic foresight to imagine a future state that is highly innovative yet ultimately possible.
The story behind the word. Traces back to the Latin 'visio' (the act of seeing), from 'videre' (to see). Historically, a 'visionary' was someone who experienced supernatural or mystical visions. By the 19th century, the word was secularized to describe leaders who could 'see' a future state of society or technology that others were blind to.
Word relationships
- forward-thinking: Forward-thinking is practical and progressive, while visionary implies a much higher degree of creative imagination and paradigm-shifting ideas.
- idealist: An idealist pursues noble principles, sometimes unrealistically, while a visionary combines imagination with strategic foresight.
- short-sighted: Short-sighted means focusing only on immediate, short-term concerns without planning for the future.
Commonly confused with
- dreamer: A dreamer has wild fantasies but lacks the strategic capability to realize them, whereas a visionary has the plan to build what they see.
Word family
- vision (noun): The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.
- visionaries (noun): Plural form of visionary.
Collocations
- visionary leader
- visionary thinker
- visionary plan
- visionary approach
Example sentences
- "The company's visionary founder anticipated the rise of personal computing decades before others." Business Leadership
- "A visionary is one who can find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." Literary Citation
Memory hook
A visionary is someone who can see the future like a clear television screen. Someone who can see the future clearly.
When not to use
Do not use to describe someone who is merely practical, conservative, or focused strictly on day-to-day operations.
Fun facts
- Nikola Tesla is widely considered one of history's greatest visionaries; he predicted wireless communication, smartphones, and the internet in the early 1900s.
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