omniscient
adjective
Ira Konigsberg
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What is the origin of omniscient?
One who is omniscient literally knows all. The word omniscient traces back to two Latin roots: omni-, meaning "all" or "universally," and the noun scientia, meaning "knowledge." You will recognize omni- as the prefix that tells all in such words as omnivorous ("eating all," or in actual use, "eating both plants and animals") and omnipotent ("all-powerful"). Scientia comes from the Latin verb scīre, meaning "to know," which likewise has a number of other knowledge-related descendants in English, including conscience, science, and prescience (meaning "foreknowledge").
Examples of omniscient in a Sentence
Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
Dark Horses June 7, 2025 Reading Time: 4 minutes
People think of drug testing as the omniscient, infallible arbiter of guilt and innocence in competitive sports.
—Katie Bo Lillis, Air Mail, 7 June 2025
Another new motif was the eye, meant to represent here an omniscient but benevolent entity that accompanies and perpetuates knowledge in an unaltered state.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 27 May 2025
This is especially true among leaders who often face pressure to be omniscient.
—Dr. Michelle Frasher, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for omniscient
Cite this Entry
“Omniscient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omniscient. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
from modern Latin omniscient-, omnisciens "knowing all things, all-knowing," derived from omni- (from omnis "all") and scient-, sciens "knowing," from scire "to know" — related to science
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