clairvoyant

/klerˈvɔɪənt/ · klair-VOY-untnoun

A person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

Use clairvoyant to express this relationship precisely: a person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

What clairvoyant Really Means

The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.

1

Core meaning

A person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

Example

The self-described clairvoyant claimed to predict future events.

2

Common noun frame

Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.

Example

Investigators tested the clairvoyant's claims under controlled conditions.

3

Analytical distinction

Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.

Example

The novel's clairvoyant sees fragments of the future.

Use clairvoyant Naturally

Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.

The self-described clairvoyant claimed to predict future events.

Investigators tested the clairvoyant's claims under controlled conditions.

The novel's clairvoyant sees fragments of the future.

Precision Matters

Clairvoyant overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.

clairvoyant

Means a person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

vs.
agnostic

Means a person who believes that the existence of God or ultimate reality is unknown or cannot be known with certainty.

clairvoyant

Means a person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

vs.
pundit

Means a commentator presented as an expert who regularly offers opinions in public or through the media.

clairvoyant

Means a person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

vs.
charlatan

Means a fraud who falsely claims special knowledge, skill, expertise, or power.

clairvoyant

Means a person claimed to perceive distant, hidden, future, or supernatural events beyond ordinary senses.

vs.
prescient

Means showing accurate knowledge of events before they happen.

Test clairvoyant in Context

She claims perception beyond ordinary senses.

1

Claiming that she could foresee events through supernatural means, the performer presented herself as a ___.

Prepared byFirst Academy
Editorial responsibilityFirst Academy Academic Team
Updated3 August 2026
Selection and reviewRead our methodology