1
a
: the act or power of seeing : sight
b
: the special sense by which the qualities of an object (such as color, luminosity, shape, and size) constituting its appearance are perceived through a process in which light rays entering the eye are transformed by the retina into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve
2
a
: something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy
especially
: a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation
b
: a thought, concept, or object formed by the imagination
c
: a manifestation to the senses of something immaterial
look, not at visions, but at realities—
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton3
a
: the act or power of imagination
b(1)
: mode of seeing or conceiving
(2)
: unusual discernment or foresight
a person of vision
c
: direct mystical awareness of the supernatural usually in visible form
4
a
: something seen
b
: a lovely or charming sight
visionally
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of vision in a Sentence
Noun
We had visions of fame and fortune.
the architect's vision for the new building
She had a clear vision of what she wanted to do.
He had a vision of Christ.
The idea came to me in a vision.
Verb
visioned her idea of the perfect meal
Recent Examples on the WebMeredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Her fashion merges all of these influences to craft a uniquely contemporary vision of ready-to-wear that merges unconventional materials with timeless silhouettes.
—Vogue, 6 Apr. 2024
His teachings were rooted in a specific vision of metaphysical reality, as informed by his guru and by the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text.
—Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
The individual will have intuitive leaps, insights, good ideas, visions, or vivid dreams.
—Emily Newhouse, Allure, 5 Apr. 2024
As his affection for the countess blossoms, we’re treated to a more complicated, well-rounded vision of the agent, which makes sense given that the relationship was possibly inspired by Ian Fleming’s real-life tragic romance during WWII.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
But the shuttle program, which ended in 2011, never lived up to the US space agency’s initial vision.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
There’s a race underway to build artificial general intelligence, a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can.
—Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Then, of course, there were Obama’s own shortcomings during his presidency, namely his capitulation to forces opposed to his most idealistic visions.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
Anchorage Daily News, 28 Mar. 2020
At 80, Larry Ginter, a longtime organizer who participated in November’s visioning session, isn’t old enough to remember the original New Deal.
—Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 31 Jan. 2020
Nobody was more tunnel-visioned than Helton, who did not look up at the visitors.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2019
But Korff won’t hold off for the city’s visioning effort to be completed.
—John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Aug. 2019
Landscape architect Christine Wilson of Copley Wolff Design Group created a conceptual design for the pocket park using community input, including through a site visit and a visioning workshop with nearby residents in the fall of 2018.
—John Laidler, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2019
The plan was born out of a 2008 community visioning exercise conducted by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation.
—Steve Schering, chicagotribune.com, 23 July 2019
Upcoming dates: July 16, Aug. 20 (open house/visioning session), Sept 17, and Oct. 15.
—Karen Huppertz, ajc, 21 June 2018
River Forest residents are invited to provide their input at a visioning workshop that will help shape the village’s future with the creation of a comprehensive plan.
—Steve Schering, chicagotribune.com, 10 Apr. 2018
Noun
Sedaris had a specific vision for Jerri’s appearance and physical demeanor, starting with her face — overbite, furrowed brows, crossed eyes.
—Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Her fashion merges all of these influences to craft a uniquely contemporary vision of ready-to-wear that merges unconventional materials with timeless silhouettes.
—Vogue, 6 Apr. 2024
His teachings were rooted in a specific vision of metaphysical reality, as informed by his guru and by the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text.
—Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
The individual will have intuitive leaps, insights, good ideas, visions, or vivid dreams.
—Emily Newhouse, Allure, 5 Apr. 2024
As his affection for the countess blossoms, we’re treated to a more complicated, well-rounded vision of the agent, which makes sense given that the relationship was possibly inspired by Ian Fleming’s real-life tragic romance during WWII.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
But the shuttle program, which ended in 2011, never lived up to the US space agency’s initial vision.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
There’s a race underway to build artificial general intelligence, a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can.
—Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Then, of course, there were Obama’s own shortcomings during his presidency, namely his capitulation to forces opposed to his most idealistic visions.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
Verb
In 2019, under the guidance of Assembly Chair Felix Rivera, the Assembly hired Laurie Wolf to facilitate a series of three strategic visioning meetings to better define our goals for years 2019-2021.
—Anchorage Daily News, 28 Mar. 2020
At 80, Larry Ginter, a longtime organizer who participated in November’s visioning session, isn’t old enough to remember the original New Deal.
—Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 31 Jan. 2020
Nobody was more tunnel-visioned than Helton, who did not look up at the visitors.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2019
But Korff won’t hold off for the city’s visioning effort to be completed.
—John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Aug. 2019
Landscape architect Christine Wilson of Copley Wolff Design Group created a conceptual design for the pocket park using community input, including through a site visit and a visioning workshop with nearby residents in the fall of 2018.
—John Laidler, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2019
The plan was born out of a 2008 community visioning exercise conducted by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation.
—Steve Schering, chicagotribune.com, 23 July 2019
Upcoming dates: July 16, Aug. 20 (open house/visioning session), Sept 17, and Oct. 15.
—Karen Huppertz, ajc, 21 June 2018
River Forest residents are invited to provide their input at a visioning workshop that will help shape the village’s future with the creation of a comprehensive plan.
—Steve Schering, chicagotribune.com, 10 Apr. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vision.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near vision
Cite this Entry
“Vision.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vision. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vision
1 of 2 noun
vi·sion
ˈvizh-ən 
1
a
: something seen in the mind (as during a dream)
b
: a vivid picture created by the imagination
c
: ghost
2
a
: the act or power of imagination
b
: unusual ability to think or plan ahead
people with vision building for the future
3
a
: the act or power of seeing : sight
b
: the sense by which the qualities of an object (as color, shape, and size) are perceived through a process in which light rays entering the eye are transformed into signals that pass to the brain
4
: something seen
especially
: a lovely or charming sight
vision
2 of 2 verb
visioned; visioning
ˈvizh-niŋ
-ə-niŋ
: imagine sense 1
couldn't vision it happening
Etymology
Noun
Middle English vision "something seen in a dream or trance," from early French vision (same meaning), from Latin vision-, visio (same meaning), derived from vidēre "to see" — related to clairvoyance, evident, provide, supervise, visit
Medical Definition
vision
noun
vi·sion
ˈvizh-ən
1
: the act or power of seeing : sight
2
: the special sense by which the qualities of an object (as color, luminosity, shape, and size) constituting its appearance are perceived through a process in which light rays entering the eye are transformed by the retina into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve
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