thought-readv.
/ˈθɔːtriːd/, U.S. /ˈθɔtˌrid/, /ˈθɑtˌrid/ Parapsychology.
1. intransitive. To practise thought-reading.
ΚΠ
1893 J. Coates (title) How to thought-read.
1934 K. Burdekin Proud Man ii. 114 If we could thought-read we couldn't lie.
2. transitive. (a) To interpret or perceive the thoughts of (a person) independently of ordinary means of expression or communication. (b) To interpret, perceive, or anticipate the contents of (a person's thoughts, a text) in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the paranormal > [verb (transitive)] > mind-read
telepath1885
telepathize1895
thought-read1898
mind-read1945
1898 L. A. Tollemache Talks with Gladstone 166 One would like to have seen, or (better still) to have thought-read, Carlyle.
1900 H. G. Wells Love & Mr. Lewisham xix. 164 Let them thought-read their daughters and hypnotise their aunts, and leave their type-writers alone.
1906 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Jan. 2 He thought-read the conditional intentions of the British commander.
1935 E. Bowen House in Paris i. v. 68 You oughtn't to thought-read letters to someone else!
1985 G. Luck Arcana Mundi Introd. 44 This man could also ‘thought-read’ lines from Virgil in the mind of a proconsul.
2007 J. B. Carter Heart of Whiteness i. 61 William Hammond..once offered to give Fancher a thousand-dollar check if she could ‘thought-read’ its details..through a sealed envelope.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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