prudent
cautious, reasonable
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
As the city's top lawyer, Mr. Carter's role should be to give the new mayor PRUDENT legal advice, even when it is not what he wishes to hear.
(New York Times)
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The young do not know enough to be PRUDENT, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation.
(Pearl S. Buck, writer)
(New York Times)
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The young do not know enough to be PRUDENT, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation.
(Pearl S. Buck, writer)
Did you
know?
prudent
adjective
- careful and avoiding risks
(Cambridge Dictionaries)
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Prudent is a late 14th century word that stems from the Old French prudent (with knowledge, deliberate) and further from the Latin "prudens" (knowing, skilled, sagacious, circumspect). Prudens is furthermore a contraction of "providens," the present participle of "providere" (to provide), which literally means to foresee (pro = ahead + videre = to see). Prudent is rarely used in the sense of foreseeing however.
Instead, it developed several meanings that all relate to being careful or cautious:
- wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense (We need someone with a prudent management style to take over the finance department)
- careful in regard to one's own interests; provident (He was able to retire early by being a prudent investor in the stock market)
- careful about one's conduct; circumspect (Prudent cyclists always wear a helmet when riding)
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SYNONYMS
careful, cautious, frugal, reasonable, vigilant, circumspect, provident, wise, sensible
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Buying a house when interest rates are low is a prudent decision."
adjective
- careful and avoiding risks
(Cambridge Dictionaries)
---
Prudent is a late 14th century word that stems from the Old French prudent (with knowledge, deliberate) and further from the Latin "prudens" (knowing, skilled, sagacious, circumspect). Prudens is furthermore a contraction of "providens," the present participle of "providere" (to provide), which literally means to foresee (pro = ahead + videre = to see). Prudent is rarely used in the sense of foreseeing however.
Instead, it developed several meanings that all relate to being careful or cautious:
- wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense (We need someone with a prudent management style to take over the finance department)
- careful in regard to one's own interests; provident (He was able to retire early by being a prudent investor in the stock market)
- careful about one's conduct; circumspect (Prudent cyclists always wear a helmet when riding)
---
SYNONYMS
careful, cautious, frugal, reasonable, vigilant, circumspect, provident, wise, sensible
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Buying a house when interest rates are low is a prudent decision."
