Choose the Right Synonym for prudent

wise, sage, sapient, judicious, prudent, sensible, sane mean having or showing sound judgment. wise suggests great understanding of people and of situations and unusual discernment and judgment in dealing with them. wise beyond his tender years sage suggests wide experience, great learning, and wisdom. the sage advice of my father sapient suggests great sagacity and discernment. the sapient musings of an old philosopher judicious stresses a capacity for reaching wise decisions or just conclusions. judicious parents using kindness and discipline in equal measure prudent suggests the exercise of restraint guided by sound practical wisdom and discretion. a prudent decision to wait out the storm sensible applies to action guided and restrained by good sense and rationality. a sensible woman who was not fooled by flattery sane stresses mental soundness, rationality, and levelheadedness. remained sane even in times of crises

It Is Prudent to Read Up on This Word History

Prudent arrived in Middle English around the 14th century and traces back, by way of Middle French, to the Latin verb providēre, meaning "to see ahead, foresee, provide (for). "Providēre" combines pro-, meaning "before, and vidēre, meaning "to see, and it may look familiar to you; it is also the source of our "provide," "provident," "provision," and "improvise." "Vidēre" also has many English offspring, including "evident," "supervise," "video," and "vision."

Examples of prudent in a Sentence

An endless war is not always the most moral or the most prudent course of action. — Richard A. Posner, New Republic, 2 Sept. 2002 We missed the Mass for St. Rose of Lima, who, though prudent, had failed to be martyred and was therefore only second-string. — Darryl Pinckney, High Cotton, 1992 Prudent burners take several precautions. Burning one of two bordering fields, they wet the edge of one or the other, usually the one being burned, to prevent the flames from jumping. — Alec Wilkinson, Big Sugar, 1989 Since the inexplicable power of a magnetized needle to "find" the north smacked of black magic … . For many decades the prudent sea captain consulted his compass secretly. — Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983 He always listened to her prudent advice. You made a prudent choice. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Temporary reduction in activity until the pain gets under control is prudent. — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 5 May 2022 On the one hand, the urgency to prepare for the fall may be prudent. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 4 May 2022 If foundational elements are in place and diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies are in place, addressing concerns about poor manager behaviors is prudent. — Simone E. Morris, Forbes, 30 Apr. 2022 Engaging an outside partner to come in and help was the prudent thing to do. — Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 Apr. 2022 In the long term, such evaluations may well be prudent. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 4 Apr. 2022 Cooling the economy now would be the prudent thing to do to allow the economy to normalize and keep inflation from spiraling out of control. — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2021 The prudent thing to do would be to go ahead and file an official report. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021 When that happened, the prudent thing to do was shut it down. — Michael Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, 6 Oct. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prudent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.