visionary

/ˈvɪʒəˌnɛri/

adjective

  1. Having original and imaginative ideas about what the future could be like.

    B2

    formal

    • "She is a visionary leader who wants to transform education."B1

  2. Describing an idea or plan that is ambitious, imaginative, and likely to bring major change.

    C1
    • "The company has a visionary plan for clean energy."B2
    • "The architect's visionary design anticipated the needs of cities decades later."C1

  3. Relating to or based on a vision or visions, especially of the future.

    B2

noun

  1. A person with original and imaginative ideas about the future, especially someone who works to make those ideas real.

    B2

    countable

    • "The young inventor was seen as a visionary."B1
    • "Many regard her as a visionary who changed the way people communicate."B2

Common mistakes

  • a visionary person who sees visions→a visionary person with imaginative ideas

    Visionary usually describes ideas, plans, or people with an ambitious view of the future; it does not normally mean someone who literally sees visions.

  • visionary as a negative term→visionary is generally positive, meaning innovative and forward-thinking

    The term 'visionary' is often used to describe someone with innovative ideas, not someone who is unrealistic.

Collocations

visionary leadervisionary thinkervisionary approachvisionary planvisionary ideas

Word family

visionvisualenvisionvisionary