mind reader

American

noun

a person professing the ability of mind reading, especially as a professional entertainer.

mind-reader British

noun

a person seemingly able to discern the thoughts of another

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

mind-reading noun

Etymology

Origin of mind reader

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One was with a mind reader — though he’d reject the term — who insisted that the trick wasn’t magic at all, but attention.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026

The 28-year-old mind reader, who graduated from the Junior Society in 2020, described the program as his “professional playground,” which gave him the skills he needed to pursue magic full-time.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

Don't expect them to be a mind reader.

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2024

Nightmare Alley stars Bradley Cooper as Stanton Carlisle, a nightclub mind reader who becomes tangled up with Cate Blanchett as Dr. Lilith Ritter, a psychiatrist out to debunk him as a fraud.

From The Verge • Sep. 16, 2021

“What are you, a mind reader or something?”

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023