great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Innovative thinkers often face strong criticism from less talented individuals
Examples
The entrepreneur's groundbreaking idea was met with skepticism, proving that great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds” mean?
Innovative thinkers often face strong criticism from less talented individuals
Is “great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.