unwisely

adverb

as in foolishly

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unwisely Their retreat quickly spirals into a nightmare when one of the group discovers a book called the Naturom Demonto in the basement, and another unwisely reads aloud from it. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 10 July 2026 Siobhan and Rekha collaborate to sort Oreos, but Grant spends this entire episode unwisely rushing into things and paying for it, mostly in humiliation. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026 Then, as England’s defenders desperately appealed for handball, Maradona somewhat unwisely celebrated by repeatedly raising his left fist to the crowd, replicating his decisive touch. — Michael Cox, New York Times, 3 June 2026 Mando has a brush with death after unwisely angering the Hutts, who task him with hunting down Jabba's son, Rotta (Jeremy Allen White). — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 23 May 2026 Democrats unwisely preferred one or two defunct airlines over one stronger and more viable combination of the two. — Editorial, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026 Advertisement Tom unwisely selects a female Jimmy nicknamed Jimmima (Emma Laird) as his opponent and is promptly and methodically disarmed as painfully as possible. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Jan. 2026 Campus protesters in the United States unwisely adopted slogans that were open to misinterpretation. — Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025 Dank, drippy corridors and tunnels are unwisely and always creepily traversed. — Bob Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwisely
  1. foolishly
  2. inadequately
  3. insufficiently
  4. undesirably
Adverb
  • But while turnstiles spun — on Thursday, the club announced a record 4,034,219 fans showed up this season to witness Ohtani’s greatness — everyone forged foolishly forward.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The assumption that Harkness had been placing dropped calls to River’s phone set up the classic Slow Horses scenario where River foolishly goes off on his own to follow a lead and falls into an obvious trap.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of foolishly
Adverb
  • In total, supervisors found that Sguros did not respond or responded inadequately to calls for service on four separate dates in 2024.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Even as funding pours in, first responders say the village remains inadequately prepared to protect residents and tourists.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of inadequately
Adverb
  • At an October debate, Bass pointed out that Raman, as chair of the city council’s housing and homelessness committee, had repeatedly approved spending on Inside Safe, the very program Raman now criticizes as expensive and insufficiently accountable.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Soenen alleges Brown officials were insufficiently responsive to her questions about the process.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of insufficiently
Adverb
  • Both of these species are large aquatic rodents that influence ecosystems – beaver dam building changes how water moves, sometimes undesirably for land owners, while nutria are non-native and damaging to wetlands.
    — Alex Jensen, Fortune, 23 Dec. 2025
  • While some liners deliver an undesirably smudge-effect, Victoria Beckham Beauty perfectly plumps.
    — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2025
Definition of undesirably

Browse Nearby Words

unwise
unwisely
unwitting
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Cite this Entry

“Unwisely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwisely. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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