1
as in carelessness
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2
as in liberality
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of improvidence
Two key factors in the SVB disaster can’t be overlooked: The incompetence of the bank’s management and the improvidence of its customers.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2023
Christina Stead gives an unflinching portrait of her own childhood, dominated by improvidence, quarrels and violence—and a crazed, buccaneering idealist of a father who both adores and exploits his ever-increasing brood of children.
—Marina Warner, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2022
Some of them cheered for the development of natural resources, and some of them expressed dismay over the waste, improvidence, and disruption that progress unleashed.
—Patty Limerick, The Denver Post, 14 Feb. 2020
In the most spectacular example of improvidence, 54-year-old Larraine blows an entire month’s worth of food stamps on a single meal of lobster tails, shrimp, crab and lemon meringue pie, washed down with Pepsi.
—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2016
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2023
Christina Stead gives an unflinching portrait of her own childhood, dominated by improvidence, quarrels and violence—and a crazed, buccaneering idealist of a father who both adores and exploits his ever-increasing brood of children.
—Marina Warner, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2022
Some of them cheered for the development of natural resources, and some of them expressed dismay over the waste, improvidence, and disruption that progress unleashed.
—Patty Limerick, The Denver Post, 14 Feb. 2020
In the most spectacular example of improvidence, 54-year-old Larraine blows an entire month’s worth of food stamps on a single meal of lobster tails, shrimp, crab and lemon meringue pie, washed down with Pepsi.
—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvidence
Noun
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Mackenzie had earned a reputation for piety, patriotism, lack of humor and liberality with the lash.—
Gerard Helferich,
WSJ,
10 Nov. 2023
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All the states Lauck writes about benefited from the liberality of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.—
Phil Christman,
The New Republic,
22 Feb. 2023
Noun
-
The series is not entirely unaware of its characters’ myopia.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
24 June 2025
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Hopefully that's just my myopia and there's a lot happening behind the scenes.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
6 May 2025
Noun
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Unfortunately, a drunken Ben makes a heinous error in judgment that abruptly extinguishes the generosity of their hosts.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
27 June 2025
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Other thinkers have reflected on the generosity of the shrub and its fruit.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
27 June 2025
Noun
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But the chaos and imprudence of Trump’s misguided and mismanaged tariffs have roiled the markets and fueled talk of a recession.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
12 Mar. 2025
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But the apparent imprudence of such a ploy didn’t stop Murphy, Davidson, or Regan, who would go on to challenge the N.H.L. and N.F.L., two other powerhouse leagues that had been around since the 1920s.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
31 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Amanda Edwards/WireImage Unlike luxury fashion or high-end accessories, where scarcity is often a deliberate strategy to generate buzz, products like jam and wine fall into the realm of everyday indulgences.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
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Spit is here and of the moment — a post-pandemic, germ-swapping indulgence.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Improvidence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvidence. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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