voice in the wilderness

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A person, publication, or other source of assertions that expresses an opinion, doctrine,…

   A person, publication, or other source of assertions that expresses an opinion, doctrine, or point of view which is ignored or rejected by almost all others; the actual utterance of an unpopular opinion, doctrine, or point of view.

   • Eysenck (1952) was just beginning to seriously question the validity of dynamically oriented therapy, but he was a lone voice in the wilderness at that time. Not until the sixties did opposing points of view . . . begin to gain prominence.
   • A leader without committed followers is an unheard voice in the wilderness.
   • When Justice Denied’s first issue was published in February 1999 it was a ‘voice in the wilderness’ alerting the world to the widespread problem of the unreliability of the legal system.
2. 2

   An influential religious personage, especially one who makes prophetic utterances.

   • "I don't know," said Anne. "He gathers together a little flock of all denominations, who only care to hear the word." "Such a voice in the wilderness as often does good service," said Julius.
   • "I, even I, may be the voice in the wilderness leading the lost sheep back to the fold."
   • Zhang again acted as a Confucian prophetic voice in the wilderness who called the people to truth.

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