Visionaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. People who are characterized by their creativity and ability to anticipate future possibilities
2. Those who demonstrate insightfulness and originality while proposing innovative solutions for upcoming challenges
3. Individuals known for their ability to imagine and predict future developments in creative ways

Etymology: "Visionaries" is the plural of "visionary," which is built from "vision" plus the suffix "-ary," a Latin-derived ending that turns a noun into an adjective or a noun denoting a person connected with something. The base word "vision" comes through Anglo-Norman "visioun" from Latin "vīsiō," a noun formed from "vīsus," the past participle of "vidēre," to see. So the word's deepest core is simply the act of seeing. The suffix is where the word's sense of a person takes shape. Latin "-ārius" was used to name people associated with an activity or a belief, and English adopted "-ary" in the same way. A visionary is therefore someone defined by a relationship to vision, and the modern sense of a person who foresees the future or imagines an unusual ideal grew out of that base, the sense of seeing beyond what is immediately present.

Synonyms: dreamers, imaginatives, foresighted, pioneers, innovators

Antonyms: realists, pragmatists, non-visionaries, traditionalists, conservatives