ahead of one's time
17
7.4
- idiom
:
adelantado a su tiempo
- There is no doubt that, in her choice of instruments, Coleman was far ahead of her time.
- far ahead of one's time
Examples
-
The French impressionist movement was really ahead of its time.
Fiction book (2001) -
She had a vision for sustainable living that was ahead of her time, inspiring future generations.
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Oh, he was way ahead of his time.
-
Was the man mad or just way ahead of his time?
-
I mean, I really felt he was ahead of his time.
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Sometimes, things are ahead of their time.
-
The paper was ahead of its time.
Academic text (2009) -
In a way, he was a man ahead of his time.
Blog text (22) -
Jerry was ahead of his time.
-
Eileen Gray is a designer who was much ahead of her time.
Blog text (30)
Synonyms
15
5.6
Having more knowledge or skill than most others in a field
4
5.6
Much more advanced than others in development and skill
Too new for people now to accept
Antonyms
How Advanced
103
5.2
47
6.3
17
7.4
165
5.5
251
4.8
175
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'ahead' (in front/in advance) combined with 'one's time' (one's era) yields the idea of a person being advanced relative to their period. This compositional logic is common across languages and follows normal English grammar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase ahead of one's time paints a simple picture: a person standing ahead on a line of time, as if they are already in the future. That image helps explain why we call someone whose ideas or work 'more advanced' than most people in their time.