Thesaurus

wisdom

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of wisdom

1 the ability to understand inner qualities or relationships

with age and experience comes wisdom—hopefully

neither book learning nor simple intelligence should be confused with wisdom

Synonyms of wisdom

discernment, insight, perception, perceptiveness, perceptivity, sagaciousness, sagacity, sageness, sapience

Words Related to wisdom

acuity, acumen, astuteness, clear-sightedness, keenness, penetration, percipience, perspicacity, sensitivity, understanding

appreciation, apprehension, comprehension, grasp

brain(s), braininess, brightness, brilliance, canniness, cleverness, gray matter, intellect, intelligence, judgment (or judgement), mentality, power, reason, sense, smartness, wit

discrimination, foresight, foresightedness, judiciousness, prudence, sanity

logic, rationality

Near Antonyms of wisdom

density, dullness (also dulness), obtuseness

brainlessness, folly, foolishness, idiocy, imbecility, mindlessness, silliness, simplemindedness, simpleness, stupidity, witlessness

illogic, irrationality, unreasonableness, unsoundness

craziness, insanity, lunacy, madness

preposterousness, senselessness, silliness, zaniness

2 a body of facts learned by study or experience

the orientation meetings will provide the company's old hands with an opportunity to pass on their wisdom to the new employees

Synonyms of wisdom

knowledge, lore, science

Words Related to wisdom

dope, information, intelligence, know, lowdown, news, skinny [slang]

data, evidence, facts

acquaintance, awareness, familiarity, literacy

erudition, learning, scholarship

expertise, know-how

Near Antonyms of wisdom

ignorance, inexperience, innocence, nescience, unfamiliarity

3 the ability to make intelligent decisions especially in everyday matters

had overstayed her welcome and lacked the wisdom to know it

Synonyms of wisdom

common sense, discreetness, discretion, gumption [chiefly dialect], horse sense, levelheadedness, nous [chiefly British], policy, prudence, sense, sensibleness, wit

Words Related to wisdom

farsightedness, forehandedness, foresight, foresightedness, forethoughtfulness, judgment (or judgement)

brains, gray matter, intelligence

logicality, logicalness, practicality, rationality, rationalness

discernment, discrimination, insight, sagacity, sapience

acumen, astuteness, clearheadedness, keenness, penetration, perspicacity, shrewdness

care, caution, circumspection, precaution, premeditation

Near Antonyms of wisdom

shortsightedness

brainlessness, foolishness, half-wittedness, idiocy, senselessness, stupidity

carelessness, heedlessness

unreasonableness

Antonyms of wisdom

imprudence, indiscretion

4 suitability for bringing about a desired result under the circumstances

wondered about the wisdom of hiring such an inexperienced girl to care for the children

Synonyms of wisdom

advisability, advisableness, desirability, desirableness, expedience, expediency, judiciousness, prudence

Words Related to wisdom

advantageousness, beneficialness, profitability

feasibility, practicality, usefulness

opportuneness, seasonableness, timeliness

Near Antonyms of wisdom

impracticality, infeasibility

inopportuneness, unseasonableness, untimeliness

Antonyms of wisdom

imprudence, inadvisability, inexpedience, inexpediency, injudiciousness, unwisdom

Synonym Discussion of wisdom

sense, common sense, judgment, wisdom mean ability to reach intelligent conclusions. sense implies a reliable ability to judge and decide with soundness, prudence, and intelligence.

- a choice showing good sense

common sense suggests an average degree of such ability without sophistication or special knowledge.

- common sense tells me it's wrong

judgment implies sense tempered and refined by experience, training, and maturity.

- they relied on her judgment for guidance

wisdom implies sense and judgment far above average.

- a leader of rare wisdom

Learn More about wisdom

Dictionary: Definition of wisdom Spanish Central: Translation of wisdom Nglish: Translation of wisdom for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of wisdom for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wisdom

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up wisdom? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments

WORD OF THE DAY

gargantuan

tremendous in size, volume, or degree

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games