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
Examples of sage in a Sentence
Adjective
a sage suggestion that anyone should think long and hard before deciding to marry
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
And the palate is all about complexity: the malt and cooked cereal notes soon morph into toasted sage and the vegetal profile of sencha tea.—Karla Alindahao, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 The two became a nightclub act of sorts, peppering sage investment advice with one-liners that kept the crowd of thousands enraptured.—Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023 The scenery perfectly complemented the elevated meal of slow-roasted free-range turkey, heirloom apple and sage stuffing, sweet potato puree, garlic lemon green beans, roasted Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and pomegranate, and a spiced cranberry orange compote served with turkey and giblet gravy.—Brande Victorian, Essence, 27 Nov. 2023 Simmer gravy: Reduce heat to medium; stir in sage and next 4 ingredients.—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 25 Nov. 2023 The smoke was wafting from a bunch of sage leaves lit by Thomas Little, whose company, Urbangreen, has done landscaping and planting work at Mr. Derian’s stores for the last decade.—Christopher Barnard, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023 This weekend’s annual Thanksgiving event at Monarch will be the first without one of the original organizers, who died this year
The scents filled the kitchen, sage mixing with thyme and tarragon.—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Nov. 2023 For this iconic dish, often cited as a staple in blogs about local food, rice is slowly simmered in a stock made with fish scraps and topped with fish filets cooked with butter and sage.—Vittoria Traverso, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Nov. 2023 There are neutral hues available, including beige and apricot gray, along with more vibrant selections, like haze blue and sage green.—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023 See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *sapius, from Latin sapere to taste, have good taste, be wise; akin to Oscan sipus knowing, Old Saxon ansebbian to perceive
Noun (2)
Middle English, from Anglo-French sage, salge, from Latin salvia, from salvus healthy; from its use as a medicinal herb — more at safe
Middle English sage "wise," from early French sage (same meaning), derived from Latin sapere "to be wise, taste, have good taste" — related to insipid, savant
Noun
Middle English sage "sage plant," from early French sage, salge (same meaning), from Latin salvia "sage plant used for health," from salvus "safe, healthy" — related to safe, save
: a perennial mint of the genus Salvia (S. officinalis) having grayish green pungent and aromatic leaves that are much used in flavoring foods and as a mild tonic and astringent
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