# voice in the wilderness

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/voice-in-the-wilderness
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

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.

## Examples

- He felt like a voice in the wilderness when he warned about the danger.
- The scientist was a voice in the wilderness for years before the public finally accepted her findings on climate change.
- Despite his status as a renowned expert, his warnings about the economic collapse remained a voice in the wilderness, ignored by both the government and the financial markets.

## Origin

The phrase originates in the Biblical accounts of John the Baptist, specifically appearing in the Gospel of Mark 1:2–4. In the King James Version, the text reads: "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." John was recorded as baptizing in the wilderness while issuing this call. The image provided is one of solitary proclamation in a desolate environment, intended as a precursor to the arrival of the Lord.

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