I. ˈvizhən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English visioun, from Old French vision, from Latin vision-, visio, from visus (past participle of vidēre to see) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at wit
1.
a. : something seen otherwise than by the ordinary sight : an imaginary, supernatural, or prophetic sight beheld in sleep or ecstasy ; especially : one that conveys a revelation
a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men — Job 33:15 (Authorized Version)
b. : a writing (as a poem) purporting to represent something beheld in a revelatory dream, trance, or ecstasy — compare dream vision
the masterpieces of the Middle Ages … the story cycle and the allegorical vision — Boris Ford
c. : a vivid concept or object of imaginative contemplation
brought visions of wealth to be gained in silk culture — American Guide Series: Delaware
d. : the apparition of a person (as in a dream) : phantom
thus the vision spoke — John Dryden
e. : a visual image without corporeal presence ; especially : a manifestation to the senses of something immaterial (as a spiritual being or state)
the baseless fabric of this vision — Shakespeare
look, not at visions, but at realities — Edith Wharton
2.
a. : the act or power of perceiving mental images (as those formed by the imagination)
a listlessness of vision behind a veneer of technical virtuosity — G.A.Wagner
b.
(1) : a mode or way of seeing
trying to express his vision in terms of recognizable subject matter — Times Literary Supplement
every vision of the world implies some sort of philosophy — Walter Lippmann
(2) : unusual discernment or foresight
a man of vision
planning that combines realism with vision — advt
c. : direct mystical awareness of the supernatural usually in visible form
a spirit and a Vision … beyond all that the mortal and perishing nature can produce — William Blake
3.
a. : the act or power of seeing : visual sensation or the capacity for it : sight
the vision of the audience comprised the speakers and actors of the play — Harley Granville-Barker
cast out from God and blessed vision — John Milton
b. : the special sense that is concerned with the perception and distinguishing of the qualities of an object (as color, luminosity, shape and size) constituting its appearance, that is mediated by the rods and cones of the retina stimulated by light projected from the object through the lens of the eye, and that is conducted centrally by the optic nerves and is coordinated especially by centers in the lateral geniculate bodies and the occipital portion of the cerebral cortex
4.
a. : something seen : an object of sight
this glorious vision of manly strength and beauty — G.B.Shaw
b. : something seen of such charm as to seem imaginary
she was a vision in that dress
c. : a momentary sight : glimpse
had caught a vision of her, of something eager, cleverly active — J.D.Beresford
5. : a figure of speech by which something present to the imagination (as a person or scene) is represented as actually before the eyes (as in Tennyson's “I see the wealthy miller yet, his double chin, his portly size”) — compare apostrophe 1
6. : a small motion-picture scene photographed by double exposure within a larger one usually to indicate the thought of an actor at a particular moment — compare dissolve
Synonyms: see fancy
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to make evident to the sight : show forth : display
the anger of God apparently visioned … unto thee in the knitting of my brows — Thomas Nash
2. : to see in or as if in a vision : imagine , envision
visioned the tiny town as the future metropolis — American Guide Series: Oregon
visioned a life of failure stretching before me — David Fairchild