ahead of one's time — meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  Global Englishneutral
  • Displaying ideas, styles, or practices that are more advanced than those common in the current era; innovative or avant-garde.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Leonardo da Vinci was truly ahead of his time with inventions that anticipated modern technology.

    Leonardo da Vinci estuvo realmente adelantado a su época con inventos que anticiparon la tecnología moderna.

  • Her fashion designs were ahead of their time, blending styles that only became popular years later.

    Sus diseños de moda estaban adelantados a su época, mezclando estilos que solo se hicieron populares años después.

  • Because his ideas about education were ahead of his time, many of his proposals were initially rejected.

    Debido a que sus ideas sobre la educación estaban adelantadas a su época, muchas de sus propuestas fueron inicialmente rechazadas.

• 2.

  Global Englishneutral
  • Not fully appreciated or understood by contemporaries because the idea or work anticipates future developments; perceived as premature.

  Examples

  Beta

  • The artist’s work was ahead of its time and misunderstood by critics during her lifetime.

    La obra de la artista estaba adelantada a su época y fue incomprendida por los críticos durante su vida.

  • He was ahead of his time in terms of environmental awareness, but few appreciated his warnings back then.

    Él estaba adelantado a su época en cuanto a conciencia ambiental, pero pocos apreciaron sus advertencias en ese entonces.

  • The novel was ahead of its time, exploring themes that later became central to literature.

    La novela estaba adelantada a su época, explorando temas que más tarde se volvieron centrales en la literatura.