Meaning
A person whose warning, appeal, or unconventional view receives little attention. The modern idiom emphasizes being disregarded, a nuance not explicit in the source verse. Regional use: Late Middle English biblical translation; now widespread but literary.
Origin
Isaiah 40:3 speaks of a voice crying in the wilderness and preparing a way; the Gospels apply the passage to John the Baptist. The Wycliffe Bible has a close Middle English form. Modern idiomatic use shifts the emphasis: the voice is imagined as unheard because it speaks in an empty place. That neglected-warning sense is not the main point of the biblical passage, so it represents a later reinterpretation of the image.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- A voice in the wilderness
Usage Examples
- For years the engineer was a voice crying in the wilderness about the weak bridge.
- Her appeal for simpler forms remained a voice in the wilderness.
- He felt like a voice crying in the wilderness as the committee ignored every warning.