thought leader

[ thawt lee-der ]

noun

1. a person or organization that is a recognized authority in a particular field and whose innovative ideas influence and guide others:

   He is a thought leader in education reform and his insights represent the latest thinking on the topic.

Other Words From

• thought lead·er·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of thought leader¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Instead, she's a thought leader inside the GOP, despite the constant drumbeat of terrorism against people and schools she's targeted for being LGBTQ-friendly.

From Salon

He published a memoir, graduated from law school, and tried to establish himself as a conservative thought leader with a self-published book titled the Conservative Millennial Playbook.

From Slate

Which isn’t to say that Lukather, Toto’s intellectual thought leader, is without his share of older-rock-star grievances.

From Los Angeles Times

“If you can kill one revolutionary thought leader and prevent a civil war while your hands are clean, you prevented a war. But that leads to ‘Minority Report’ and we don’t want to live in that world.”

From Washington Times

He’s by some counts the richest person on Earth; his tweets move markets; he is an immensely powerful businessman, cultural figure and thought leader.

From Los Angeles Times