futurist

[ fyoo-cher-ist ]

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a follower of futurism, especially an artist or writer.
2. Theology. a person who maintains that the prophecies in the Apocalypse will be fulfilled in the future. Compare presentist, preterist.
3. Also fu·tur·ol·o·gist []. a person whose occupation or specialty is the forecasting of future events, conditions, or developments.

adjective

1. futuristic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of futurist¹

From the Italian word futurista, dating back to 1835–45. See future, -ist

Example Sentences

“This isn’t exactly the high-tech nirvana that the futurists of the 1960s were hoping for,” she said.

From Seattle Times

From misinformation and invisible cyber attacks, to irresponsible AI that could cause events involving multiple deaths, expert futurists have forecast how rapid technology changes may shape our world by 2040.

From Science Daily

Technology like virtual reality and concepts such as the metaverse have attracted interest from venture capital investors, tech futurists, and corporations such as Facebook parent Meta, Walt Disney Co. and Apple.

From Los Angeles Times

Some futurists with a dystopian bent have maintained that inevitable technological improvements will give machines so many capabilities that they will effectively displace a significant part of the workforce.

From Seattle Times

As composer, virtuoso pianist, theorist, highly opinionated futurist and pedagogue, Busoni exerted a little-acknowledged, though crucial, component of the cultural identity of San Francisco and beyond, Los Angeles very much included.

From Los Angeles Times