Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CLAIRVOYANT
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Remember Miss Cleo?
Don't call that number, y'all. Miss Cleo (may she rest in peace) was that character who used to be all over TV, urging you to call her and avail yourself of her clairvoyant powers, her clairvoyant vision. "Miss Cleo has the answers!" "Uncover the truth for free!" (It wasn't free. It was pay per minute.)
Clearly, I put no stock in the notion of clairvoyance myself, but maybe you do, and we'll agree to disagree. That's cool. And we can definitely agree on the fact that the word clairvoyant literally means "clear-sighted."
The "voyant" part comes from the Latin word that also gave us words like vision, video, visage, visor, and vi___, which can mean "a view," but more figuratively means "a long stretch of time, a long stretch of events, or a long, far-reaching picture of something in your mind."
Can you recall it? Hint: Think of how you'd say, in Spanish, "See you later!" (Literally "Until the next sighting!")
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"CLAIRVOYANT"
We took this word from French, where it means "clear-sighted." If you trace that French word back to its Latin roots, you'll see how it ultimately comes from the Latin clarus ("clear, or loud") and videre ("to see").
If you refer to people as clairvoyant, whether you're being serious, imaginative, or hyperbolic, you mean that they're psychic: that they can "see" things with superhuman clarity, like what will happen in the future, what others are thinking, or what's happening in faraway places.
Pronunciation:
clair VOY yunt
Part of speech:
Most often an adjective: "she's clairvoyant," "her powers are clairvoyant."
Also a noun, meaning the person with the superhuman mental powers: "she's a clairvoyant," "the story centers on these teenage clairvoyants."
Other forms:
clairvoyance, clairvoyantly
How to use it:
"Clairvoyant" is a useful word for talking about fiction: "River's clairvoyant powers save the crew from reavers." "The Volturi envy the Cullen family for their clairvoyance: Edward reads minds; Alice glimpses the future."
It's also great for general exaggeration: "This professor's instructions are so vague, I'd have to be clairvoyant to know what he wants."
And, unfortunately, we need the word "clairvoyant" to talk about the entire industry of people who claim to predict the future, communicate with the dead, "see" the resolution to an unsolved crime, etc. "Most people who charge for their clairvoyant services are truly convinced of their own powers."
examples:
John Oliver warned about the danger of lending legitimacy to people with self-proclaimed clairvoyant powers. "Every time a psychic makes a grieving widow cry on Dr. Oz, ten con artists get their wings."
Helping the public learn to dismiss unproven claims, the James Randi Educational Foundation operates a program that they call the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge. The challenge invites clairvoyants to prove their powers under controlled conditions. So far, none have.
has this page helped you understand "clairvoyant"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "clairvoyant" without saying "seeing into the beyond" or "having supernatural 'vision.'"
try it out:
Fill in the blank: "You don't need clairvoyance to foresee that (something obvious will occur)."
Example: "You don't need clairvoyance to foresee that this landlocked chain restaurant will disappoint you with its lobster bisque."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
This month, we're playing Name Those Synonyms!
We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished.
From the previous issue: What three synonyms (<1>, <2>, and <3>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
"There must be harmony and unity to constitute an object or a person really <1>. Thus, we speak of a <1> landscape, a <1> poem. But <1> implies also, in concrete objects, softness of outline and delicacy of mold. <2> expresses in a far less degree that which is pleasing to a refined taste in objects that are comparatively small, slight, and dainty; as, a <2> bonnet, a <2> girl. <3> implies well and harmoniously proportioned, superficially pleasant, with usually the added idea that it is made so by art, breeding, or training, as, a <3> horse, a <3> house. <3> is a term far inferior to <1>; we may even say a <3> villain."
Answers:
<1> is "beautiful."
<2> is "pretty."
<3> is "handsome."
Try this today: What three synonyms (<1>, <2>, and <3>) does the Handbook distinguish below? They are distinguished from each other, then from the word "beaming."
"An object is <1> that shines with either original or reflected light; thus the sun, the moon, and the stars are <1>; that is <2> which shines with unusual or distinctive <1>ness; as, one star in a constellation may be especially <2>; all the stars are strikingly <2> on a clear moonless night by contrast with the deep blue-black of the sky; a diamond cut so as to throw out the maximum of light is called 'a <2>.' That is <3> from which light seems to pour forth in rays; an object which is <3> sends forth a steady light, while that of a <2> object may be fitful. Beaming is applied to light which seems to be sent forth in beams, and is a milder word than <3>."
Bonus challenge: Recall the fine differences between "candid" and "frank." You can view the answer in this issue.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of CLAIRVOYANT is
A. MAUDLIN.
B. OBLIVIOUS.
C. QUINTESSENTIAL.
2. Shawn's apparent clairvoyance results from his _____.
A. playful sense of humor
B. keen memory and powers of observation
C. obsession with jerk chicken and pineapples
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Remember Miss Cleo?
Don't call that number, y'all. Miss Cleo (may she rest in peace) was that character who used to be all over TV, urging you to call her and avail yourself of her clairvoyant powers, her clairvoyant vision. "Miss Cleo has the answers!" "Uncover the truth for free!" (It wasn't free. It was pay per minute.) We took this word from French, where it means "clear-sighted." If you trace that French word back to its Latin roots, you'll see how it ultimately comes from the Latin clarus ("clear, or loud") and videre ("to see").
John Oliver warned about the danger of lending legitimacy to people with self-proclaimed clairvoyant powers. "Every time a psychic makes a grieving widow cry on Dr. Oz, ten con artists get their wings."
Explain the meaning of "clairvoyant" without saying "seeing into the beyond" or "having supernatural 'vision.'"
Fill in the blank: "You don't need clairvoyance to foresee that (something obvious will occur)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of CLAIRVOYANT is
|