omniscient

adjective

om·​ni·​scient äm-ˈni-shənt 

1

: having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight

an omniscient author

the narrator seems an omniscient person who tells us about the characters and their relations

—Ira Konigsberg

2

: possessed of universal or complete knowledge

the omniscient God

omnisciently adverb

Did you know?

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Narrators that seemed close have proved omniscient: Catherine spilling what’s inside Robert’s head and what’s inside her son’s flat, where she’s surely never invited. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024

Amodei’s and Hassabis’s visions that omniscient computer programs will soon end all disease is worth any amount of spending today. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2024

So does narration that alternates between the main characters and an omniscient author, using first, second or third person singular, depending. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024

And to Cumming’s amusement, the cast seems genuinely scared of him at times, treating him as an almost omniscient voice of God on the show. —Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin omniscient-, omnisciens, back-formation from Medieval Latin omniscientia

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

omniscient

adjective

om·​ni·​scient äm-ˈnish-ənt 

: knowing everything

omnisciently adverb

Etymology

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