prudence
Syllables: pru·dence/ˈpɹuːd(ə)n(t)s//ˈpɹud(ə)n(t)s/
prudence noun: the quality or state of being prudent: circumspection and good judgment in knowing how best to act; (countable, archaic) an instance of this.
Noun
prudence (countable and uncountable, plural prudences)
- The quality or state of being prudent: circumspection and good judgment in knowing how best to act; (countable, archaic) an instance of this.
- [T]here are ſo many concurrencies vvhich have their attending cheques; vvhich poſſible are to be, but actually, vvere not improved in remedy that the prevalence of the Fire againſt, and in deſpight of thoſe vvonted prudences, and uſual reſiſtances, and the Latitude of effects, ſeconding ſuch a...1666 October 30 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Edward Waterhous[e], “To His Noble Friend and Kinsman, Sr. Edwarde Turno[u]r, Knight; Speaker of the Honorable House of Commons in this Present...
- Concerning intellectual Habits or the genuine effects of theſe acts in the underſtanding Faculty, and they are divers and diverſly expreſſed by thoſe that have treated thereof. […] Prudence, vvhich is principally in reference to actions to be done, the due means, order, ſeaſon, method of doing or...a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, “Touching the Excellency of the Humane Nature in General”, in The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature...
- Synonyms:
- cautel, discretion, farsightedness, foresightedness, judiciousness, providence, prudentness, prudency
- Antonyms:
- imprudence, rashness, recklessness, unprudence
- Synonym of frugality (“the quality of avoiding unnecessary expenditure; economy, parsimony, thrift, thriftiness”).
- Synonyms:
- frugality
- Synonym of providence (“preparation for the future; foresight”).
- For 'tis my ſetled Opinion, that Divine Prudence is often, at leaſt, converſant in a peculiar manner about the Actions of Men, and the things that happen to Them, or have a neceſſary Connexion vvith the One, or the Other, or Both.1686 (indicated as 168⁵⁄₆), R[obert] B[oyle], “Sect[ion] VI”, in A Free Enquiry into the Vulgarly Receiv’d Notion of Nature; […], London: […] H. Clark, for John Taylor […], →OCLC, page 239
- Synonyms:
- providence
- Synonym of wisdom (“an element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise; wise advice”).
- Children here ye the fathers diſcipline, and attend that you may knovve prudence.1610, The Second Tome of the Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Prouerbes 4:1, page 276
- [H]e [Pythagoras] vvent from Ægypt to the Perſians, (not to Perſia, as ſome conceive) and reſigned himſelf to the moſt exact prudence of the Magi, to be formed.1659–1660, Thomas Stanley, “[Pythagoras.] Chap[ter] V. How He Went to Babylon.”, in The History of Philosophy, the Third and Last Volume, […], volume III, London: […] Humphrey Moseley, and Thomas...
- Synonyms:
- sagacity, acuity, astuteness, clairvoyance, discernment, discrimination, gumption, insight, nous, penetration
Proper noun capitalized: Prudence
Prudence
- A female given name from English, one of the Puritan virtue names.
prudence meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
prudence in Tamil
- ஆய்ந்தறியறிவு, உலகியலறிவு, முன்மதி
prudence in Urdu
- quality or state of being prudent
- احتیاط ihtiyāt
prudence in Bengali
- বিচক্ষণতা, দূরদর্শিতা
prudence in Malayalam
- ദീർഘദൃഷ്ടി, കാര്യപ്രാപ്തി, വിവേകം, വീണ്ടുവിചാരം
More languagesFewer languages
- prudence in Kannada
- ವಿವೇಕ, ಯುಕ್ತಾಯುಕ್ತ ವಿವೇಚನೆ, ಮುಂದಾಲೋಚನೆ, ದೂರದೃಷ್ಟಿ
- prudence in Punjabi
- ਨੀਤੀ nītī
- prudence in Sanskrit
- धीर्य dhīrya
- prudence in Tagalog
- habas, hunos-dili, siyasip
- prudence in Arabic
- عَقْل ʕaql, حَنْك ḥank, حَصَافَة ḥaṣāfa, حَيْطَة f/حِيطَة ḥayṭa
- prudence in Indonesian
- wiweka
- prudence in Persian
- کیاست kiyâsat, تدبیر tadbir
Examples of prudence in a sentence
- Prudence, like experience, must be paid for.1777 May 8 (first performance; rewritten a. 1817), Richard Brinsley Sheridan, “The School for Scandal: A Comedy”, in Thomas Moore, editor...
- Prudence supposes the value of the end to be assumed, and refers only to the adaptation of the means.1845, William Whewell, “Virtues and Vices”, in The Elements of Morality, including Polity […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker...
- "You mistake," cried the doctor, startled out of all his prudences; "it ought to be my business quite as much as it is yours."1861, [Margaret Oliphant], “The Doctor’s Family. Chapter VII.”, in The Rector: And The Doctor’s Family […] (Chronicles of Carlingford)...
Synonyms of prudence
- cautel
- discretion
- farsightedness
- foresightedness
- judiciousness
- providence
- prudentness
- prudency
- frugality
- sagacity
22 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of prudence
| plural | prudences |
|---|
Origin of prudence
From Middle English prudence (“discretion; foresight; knowledge; intelligence, wisdom; act of good judgment; wisdom to see what is virtuous”), from Anglo-Norman prudence, Middle French prudence, and Old French prudence (“common sense; wisdom”) (modern French prudence), and from their etymon Latin prūdentia (“common sense; discretion, prudence; foresight; knowledge; providence; skilfulness; wisdom”), from prūdent- (the stem of prūdēns (“knowledgeable, skilful; wise, prudent”)) + -ia (suffix forming first-declension feminine abstract nouns). Prūdēns is a contraction of prōvidēns (“caring for; foreseeing; providing”) (whence prōvidentia (“foreknowledge, foresight; forethought, precaution, providence”)), the present active participle of prōvideō (“to care for, look after; to foresee; to provide, see to”), from prō- (prefix meaning ‘forward; prior’) + videō (“to perceive, see; to comprehend, understand; to look out for, care for”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see; to know”)). Doublet of provide and purvey.
Words formed from prudence
Phrases with prudence
Questions about prudence
- What does prudence mean?
- Prudence means the quality or state of being prudent: circumspection and good judgment in knowing how best to act; (countable, archaic) an instance of this.
- What is prudence in Tamil?
- Prudence in Tamil is ஆய்ந்தறியறிவு, உலகியலறிவு, முன்மதி. See Prudence meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use prudence in a sentence?
- Prudence, like experience, must be paid for.
- What part of speech is prudence?
- Prudence can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce prudence?
- Prudence is pronounced /ˈpɹuːd(ə)n(t)s/ (UK).
- What is the plural of prudence?
- The plural of prudence is prudences.
Words near prudence in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: prudence (page history and authors); Prudence (page history and authors); prudence (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prudence (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prudence (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prudence (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). 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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-prudence.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-prudence.wav.
Cite this entry: “prudence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prudence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.