What does clairaudiently mean?
Clairaudiently is an adverb describing something done by means of clairaudience — the purported paranormal ability to hear sounds or voices that lie beyond normal auditory perception. It derives from clairaudient, itself formed on the French prefix clair- ("clear") combined with the Latin root audire ("to hear"), mirroring the parallel formation of clairvoyance for psychic seeing. The word appears almost exclusively in writing about Spiritualism, mediumship, and parapsychology, where mediums distinguish between receiving messages as inner speech or voices (clairaudiently) and perceiving visions (clairvoyantly) or feelings (clairsentiently). Because the underlying phenomenon has never been scientifically demonstrated, the term carries an inherently speculative connotation and is treated as jargon outside occult contexts. It remains rare even within its own field, functioning mainly as the adverbial form of a noun–adjective pair.
adverbIn a manner involving the supposed psychic ability to hear sounds or voices beyond the range of ordinary hearing; by means of clairaudience.
- By means of, or in the manner of, clairaudience — the alleged paranormal faculty of perceiving sounds or voices inaudible to others.
"The medium claimed to receive messages clairaudiently, as though a voice were speaking beside her."
"She described receiving the warning clairaudiently, as if a voice had whispered her name."
"Practitioners of spirit communication often claim to work clairaudiently rather than through visions or impressions."
"Clair" is French for clear and "audient" comes from the Latin audire, "to hear" — so a clairaudient person literally claims to hear things clearly that no one else can hear at all.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clairaudiently
Clairaudiently is built on clairaudient, a nineteenth-century coinage within the vocabulary of Spiritualism. The base combines the French prefix clair-, meaning "clear," with the Latin verb audire, "to hear" — the same Latin root behind English words such as audible, audience, and audio. It was modelled directly on the older term clairvoyant (from French clair + voir, "to see"), extending the idea of extrasensory perception from sight to hearing. The adverbial suffix -ly was then added to produce this rarer derived form.
Related word forms
How clairaudiently is actually used
A rare adverb confined almost entirely to discussions of Spiritualism, parapsychology, and occult literature; it carries no established figurative use and would strike most readers as jargon outside those contexts.
Easily confused with clairaudiently
Clairvoyantly refers to seeing images or visions psychically, whereas clairaudiently refers to hearing them.
Clairsentiently describes perceiving information through psychic feeling or sensation, while clairaudiently describes perceiving it as sound or voice.