Word.ws English Dictionary

providence

Syllables: pro·vid·enceUK/ˈpɹɒvɪdəns//ˈpɹɑvɪdəns/

providence noun: preparation for the future; good governance; foresight.

Noun

providence (countable and uncountable, plural providences)

  1. (archaic) Preparation for the future; good governance; foresight.
  2. The careful governance and guidance of God (or another deity, nature, etc.).
    • WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the law relating to the government of Her Majesty’s Navy, whereon, under the good Providence of God, the wealth, safety and strength of the Kingdom so much depend:1957, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Preamble”, in Naval Discipline Act 1957, page 1
    • Constraining the area of a UAS’ operation does not provide protection to the public when there is no guarantee that a UA will remain within these confines. In this case the UA entered controlled airspace used by commercial aircraft and it could have crashed in a nearby densely populated area or at...2021 February 18, Air Accidents Investigation Branch, “Public Safety”, in AAIB investigation to Alauda Airspeeder Mk II, (UAS, registration n/a) 040719, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2023
  3. A manifestation of divine care or direction; an instance of divine intervention.
    • The idea was that a complete list of fully documented providences should be compiled as a cooperative venture which would cross denominational barriers.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 91
  4. Specifically, the prudent care and management of resources; thriftiness, frugality.
    • His providence in saving for his old age is exemplary.

Proper noun capitalized: Providence

Providence

  1. Divine care or direction, the will of God or the gods; the grace of God; fate or fortune.
  2. A city in Providence County, Rhode Island, the state capital and largest city.
    • Catera Northup, 20, an exotic dancer from Providence, R.I., and Treneishyia Phillips, 27, from Waynesboro, Georgia, recovered from B.B.L.s at at^([sic]) Enchantress.2022 May 11, Sandra E. Garcia, “Butt Lifts Are Booming. Healing Is No Joke.”, in The New York Times Magazine, archived from the original on 19 May 2022
    • In Olneyville, behind the historic Atlantic Mills, the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Bike Path connects Providence to Johnston. It features soccer fields, gardens and a pump track along the way.2024 June 23, Christine Chitnis, “The city that moved rivers to emerge as a cultural capital”, in CNN, archived from the original on 31 Aug 2024
  3. A town in Marengo County, Alabama.
  4. An unincorporated community in White County, Arkansas.
  5. A ghost town in San Bernardino County, California.
  6. An unincorporated community in Bureau County, Illinois.
  7. An unincorporated community in Union Township, Johnson County, Indiana.
  8. A city in Webster County, Kentucky.
  9. An unincorporated community in Simpson County, Kentucky.
  10. An unincorporated community in Trimble County, Kentucky.
  11. An unincorporated community in Cecil County, Maryland.
  12. A township and unincorporated community therein, in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota.
Show 16 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. An unincorporated community in Boone County, Missouri.
  2. An unincorporated community in Dunklin County, Missouri.
  3. A town in Saratoga County, New York.
  4. An unincorporated community in Caswell County, North Carolina.
  5. An unincorporated community in Granville County, North Carolina.
  6. An unincorporated community in McDowell County, North Carolina.
  7. An unincorporated community in Rockingham County, North Carolina.
  8. A township and ghost town in Lucas County, Ohio.
  9. A township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
  10. An unincorporated community in Orangeburg County, South Carolina.
  11. An unincorporated community in Anderson County, Texas.
  12. A city in Cache County, Utah.
  13. An unincorporated community in Jackson County, West Virginia.
  14. Other townships, in Iowa (2), and North Carolina, listed under Providence Township.
  15. A village in Apatou commune, French Guiana department.
  16. A community in the Demerara-Mahaica region, Guyana.

providence meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

providence in Hindi

प्रोविडेंस, प्रोविडेन्स

providence in Tamil

தேவேத்தனம், திருவுளச்செயல்

providence in Marathi

प्रोव्हिडन्स, प्रोविडन्स

providence in Urdu

providence
پروردگار parvardigār
More languagesFewer languages
providence in Bengali
দৈব dōibô
providence in Telugu
ప్రొవిడెన్స్, ప్రోవిడెన్స్
providence in Malayalam
ദൈവാനുഗ്രഹം, ദൈവകടാക്ഷം, ദൈവകൃപ, ദൈവവിധി
providence in Kannada
ದೈವಾನುಗ್ರಹ, ದೈವಕೃಪೆ, ವಿಧಿ, ಅದೃಷ್ಟ
providence in Punjabi
ਪ੍ਰੋਵਿਡੈਂਸ, ਪ੍ਰੋਵੀਡੈਂਸ
providence in Gujarati
પ્રોવિડન્સ, પ્રોવિડેન્સ
providence in Odia
ପ୍ରୋଭିଡେନ୍ସ, ପ୍ରୋଭିଡେନ୍ସ୍
providence in Tagalog
probidensiya

Synonyms of providence

Forms of providence

pluralprovidences

Plural of providence: providences

Origin of providence

From Middle English providence, from Anglo-Norman providence, Middle French providence, and their source, Latin prōvidentia (“providence, foresight”), from the present participle of prōvidēre (“to provide”). By surface analysis, provide + -ence. Displaced native Old English foresċēawung.

From providence.

Words formed from providence

Phrases with providence

Questions about providence

What does providence mean?
Providence means preparation for the future; good governance; foresight.
What is providence in Hindi?
Providence in Hindi is प्रोविडेंस, प्रोविडेन्स. See Providence meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is providence?
Providence can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce providence?
Providence is pronounced /ˈpɹɒvɪdəns/ (UK).
What is the plural of providence?
The plural of providence is providences.

Words near providence in the dictionary

  1. provide
  2. provided
  3. provided that
  4. providee
  5. providees
  6. providence
  7. Providence County
  8. Providence Plantations
  9. Providence Portal
  10. providences
  11. Providenciales

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: providence (page history and authors); Providence (page history and authors); providence (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); providence (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); providence (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); پروردگار (Urdu) (page history and authors); দৈব (Bengali) (page history and authors); providence (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); providence (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); providence (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); providence (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); providence (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); providence (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-providence.ogg.

Cite this entry: “providence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/providence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.