prudence

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (3)  · 
“
You could not have done better; your prudence was admirable.

View all »
Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The state, quality, or fact of being prudent.
  2. noun Careful management; economy.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: prudence, discretion, foresight, forethought, circumspection
    These nouns refer to the exercise of good judgment, common sense, and even caution, especially in the conduct of practical matters. Prudence is the most comprehensive: "She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older” (Jane Austen).
    Discretion suggests wise self-restraint, as in resisting a rash impulse: "The better part of valor is discretion” (Shakespeare).
    Foresight implies the ability to foresee and make provision for what may happen: She had the foresight to make backups of her computer files.
    Forethought suggests advance consideration of future eventualities: The empty refrigerator indicated a lack of forethought.
    Circumspection implies discretion, as out of concern for moral or social repercussions: "The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection” (Samuel Adams).

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • We recommend you to practice discretion and prudence, that is the role we enact, is it not? —  Life, Letters, and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de L'Enclos, the Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth Century
  • In the midst of the worst financial crisis in living memory F1 has yet to prove that it really understands the meaning of the word prudence, while the BBC - which pushes its environmental agenda at every turn - is in a quandary as the sport still has a long, long way to go in convincing anyone that it is turning even the slightest bit green. —  Pitpass - the latest hottest F1 & A1 GP news
  • A prudence which is mastered, which has become a spontaneity, delivers reason from bondage, and makes the whole of life easily conformable to it. —  The Moral Economy
  • When he talked thus, at once with wisdom and gentleness, Agatha began to forgive him After all," said she, brightening, "your prudence--which I might call by a harder word, but I'll be good now--your prudence is only restraining me in my little pleasures, and I don't much mind. —  Agatha's Husband A Novel
  • She was prudent, and Caroline also was prudent; but their prudence was a different kind. —  The Bertrams
More examples »
 

Tags

prudence hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 357 times.

2 people have marked this word as a favorite.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

moderation ·  tact ·  discretion ·  modesty ·  honesty ·  caution ·  firmness ·  wisdom ·  kindness ·  courage ·  decency ·  patience
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English prudence, prudens, from Old French (and F.) prudence = Provencal prudenza = Spanish Portuguese prudencia = Italian prudenzia, prudenza, from Latin prudentia, a foreseeing, sagacity, prudence, from pruden(t-)s, foreseeing, prudent: see prudent. Cf. providence and purveyance, ult. doublets of prudence.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈprudəns/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word a few times a week.

Recently looked up

noughties · unsinkable · looketh · rapped · postscript

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

unicycle hockey · droopy drawers · turducken · cuddlefish · cuttlefish