Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Having the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; sagacious: a wise leader.
- adj. Exhibiting common sense; prudent: a wise decision.
- adj. Shrewd; crafty.
- adj. Having great learning; erudite.
- adj. Provided with information; informed. Used with to: was wise to the politics of the department.
- adj. Slang Rude and disrespectful; impudent.
- wise up Slang To make or become aware, informed, or sophisticated.
- n. Method or manner of doing; way: in no wise; in any wise.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Quite aware; knowing; cognizant of.
- Having the power of discerning and judging rightly, or of discriminating between what is true and what is false, between that which is right, fit, and proper and that which is unsuitable, injudicious, and wrong; possessed of discernment, discretion, and judgment: as, a wise prince; a wise magistrate.
- Proper to a wise man; sage; grave; serious.
- Having knowledge; knowing; intelligent; enlightened; learned; erudite.
- Practically or experimentally knowing; experienced; versed or skilled; dexterous; cunning; subtle; specifically, skilled in some hidden art, as magic or divination: as, the soothsayers and tho wise men.
- Religious; pious; godly.
- Dictated, directed, or guided by wisdom; containing wisdom; judicious: as, a wise saying; a wise scheme or plan; wise conduct or direction; a wise determination.
- A midwife.
- =Syn.1. Sagacious, discerning, oracular, long-headed. See wisdom.—6. Sound, solid, philosophical.
- n. Way; manner; mode; guise; style: now seldom used as an independent word, except in such phrases as in any wise, in no wise, on this wise.
- To guide; direct; lead or send in a particular direction.
- To turn; incline; twist.
- An apparent suffix, really the noun wiseused in adverbial phrases originally with a preposition, as in anywise, nowise, likewise, otherwise, etc., originally in any wise, in no wise, in like wise, in other wise, etc.; so sidewise, lengthwise, etc., in which, in colloquial use, -ways also appears, by confusion with way.
Wiktionary
- adj. Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.
- adj. colloquial Disrespectful.
- v. To become wise.
- v. ergative, slang Usually with "up", to inform or learn.
- n. archaic Way, manner, method.
- v. dialectal to instruct
- v. dialectal to advise; induce
- v. dialectal to show the way, guide
- v. dialectal to direct the course of, pilot
- v. dialectal to cause to turn
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Having knowledge; knowing; enlightened; of extensive information; erudite; learned.
- adj. Hence, especially, making due use of knowledge; discerning and judging soundly concerning what is true or false, proper or improper; choosing the best ends and the best means for accomplishing them; sagacious.
- adj. Versed in art or science; skillful; dexterous; specifically, skilled in divination.
- adj. rare Hence, prudent; calculating; shrewd; wary; subtle; crafty.
- adj. Dictated or guided by wisdom; containing or exhibiting wisdom; well adapted to produce good effects; judicious; discreet.
- adj. Way of being or acting; manner; mode; fashion.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. evidencing the possession of inside information
- adj. marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters
- n. United States religious leader (born in Bohemia) who united reform Jewish organizations in the United States (1819-1900)
- adj. improperly forward or bold
- n. a way of doing or being
- n. United States Jewish leader (born in Hungary) (1874-1949)
- adj. having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
Etymologies
- From Middle English wisen ("to advise, direct"), from Old English wisian ("to show the way, guide, direct"), from Proto-Germanic *wīsanan, *wīsijanan (“to show the way, dispense knowledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know”). Cognate with Dutch wijzen ("to indicate, point out"), German weisen ("to show, indicate"), Danish vise ("to show"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English wīs. Middle English, from Old English wīse. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Were all men simply wise and just, all predicating of certain men that they were _more_, or _most, wise_ or _just_, would be at once absurd and without utility.”
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 5, May, 1862 Devoted To Literature And National Policy
“_He that walketh with the wise shall be wise_ (Prov.xiii. 20) is as true to-day as when first uttered.”
“The divergence of such a syllogism from the _Dictum_ may, however, be easily shown to be superficial by writing, instead of _No wise man fears death_, the simple, converse, _No man who fears death is wise_.”
“ I suppose it has often happened that a fool has spoken wisely, and wise men have often done foolishly, as St. Paul says, If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise (1 Cor. iii.”
“Most often, I picture an old, bald Buddhist monk sitting erect on a bamboo mat in an ancient temple somewhere in Tibet, his eyes closed, his expression wise and serene, like he holds the secret to inner peace.”
“John Willet, who appeared to consider himself particularly and chiefly referred to under the term wise men, looked that way likewise, and with great solidity of feature.”
“Is there some portion of the forward bookings if you look at the term wise pipeline of four booking is actually tied to those expansion projects such as afford to be later cancel there?”
“In Scotus's thinking, the word "wise," for example, might apply to God in the same sense in which it applies to man.”
“Hillary has lost fair and square for anyone to say other wise is again childish!”
“The problem with the wise is they are so filled with doubts while the dull are so certain.”
Think Progress » “Bush Was Right!” — The New Hit Single Ready to Rock a Generation
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘wise’.
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PHIL - vocabulary of thinking
philosophy, Socratic, dialogue, philosopher, Athenian, philosophical, politic, Greek, method, death, ancient, believe and 243 more...
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steffany(grade 2)
accident, agree, arrive, astronomy, attention, award, aware, balance, banner, bare, base, beach and 127 more...
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 467 more...
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jackgrade2
accident, agree, arrive, astronomy, atlas, attention, award, aware, balance, banner, bare, base and 127 more...
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RELI - Genesis
Protagonists and relevant words in the Book of Creation (Source: King James Bible)
wrath, leaf, belly, prey, death, break, six, nod, dim, end, inn, judge and 1286 more...
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EN - pronunciation fun
All words of the poem
The Chaos
by Gerard Nolst Trenité
Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse <...abyss, ache, actual, advice, aerie, age, ague, aisles, alas, alien, alive, allowed and 406 more...
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Suffix
-able, ade, age, al, an, ian, ance, ant, ar, ard, arian, ary and 60 more...
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RBC: Adjectives for Henry's Ma
Our class list of adjectives for Henry's Ma.
determined, cautious, disappointed, uncertain, wise, stubborn, passionate, unsupportive, forgiving, firm, honest, dishonest and 36 more...
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sentient
think words
wise, witty, smart, brilliant, sentient, extrapolate, imagination, intelligence, polymath, contemplate, calculate, create and 2 more...
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Character Traits
This is a list of adjectives used by writers to help develop characters.
guileful, obsessed, brilliant, bright, naive, streetwise, streetsmart, ruthless, cruel, foolish, obsessive, introspective and 19 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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What Is a Reesetee, Anyhow?
It kinda all started on limpkin...
Reesetee is fighting back on this list.wise man looking ..., someone named reese, old creole bon vi..., monocled raconteur, niche worrier, buckminsterfullerene, short, frail, fro..., loves reese's pea..., wears homespun dhoti, prefers reese's p..., has list dedicate..., commenty and 114 more...
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Beknownst1981's list
I love words, especially the ones I make up with my friends.
translucent meat ..., beknownst (knew), plethora, curmudgeon, wanderlust, actually, differentiate, bearded, hobbit feet, female, sexy time, librarian and 220 more...
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WORDS THAT REQUIRE SELF-DEFINITION
these words define & shape the lives of humans every single day... yet most people don't take the time to consider how they PERSONALLY define them...
I don't understand how you can sp...love, success, purpose, friend, friendship, happiness, identity, life, norm, wise
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Counties in Virginia
There are only 95 counties, but this list also includes independent cities. Some have the same name (e.g. Bedford), so tags on each word say whether a Virginia county, Virginia city, or both.
lee, scott, wise, dickenson, buchanan, russell, washington, tazewell, smyth, bland, wythe, grayson and 118 more...
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