Prudent Meaning
/ˈpɹuː.dənt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjSagacious in adapting means to ends; circumspect in action, or in determining any line of conduct.
adjPractically wise, judicious, shrewd.
Sentence Examples
A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy.
Indeed he is young, but he is prudent.
CEFR Practice Quiz
It is ____ to save a portion of your salary every month for future emergencies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It would be ____ to consult a lawyer before signing any agreement of this complexity.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English prudent, from Old French prudent, from Latin prūdēns, contracted from prōvidēns (“foresight”) (English providence), the present participle of prōvideō (“to forsee; to provide for”). Unrelated to prude. Doublet of provident.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Moſes,[…]eſtabliſht a grave and prudent Law,[…]."
— 1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC, page 26:
"He did not hesitate what to do. It would be prudent to continue on to Omaha, for it would be dangerous to return to the train, which the Indians might still be engaged in pillaging."
— 1864, Jules Verne, chapter 30, in Around the World in 80 Days, archived from the original on 12 Apr 2012:
"A prudent man foreſeeth the euill, and hideth himſelfe: but the ſimple paſſe on, and are puniſhed."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 22:3–3, column 2:
"The history of cast iron in railway bridges is much more grimly chequered. Brunel's misgivings were proved prudent, tragically, in the 1879 failure of Thomas Bouch's Tay bridge (once a monument to cast iron, now a memorial to many lives lost)."
— 2025 March 5, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Remembering Brunel's timber viaducts”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 60:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
It is ____ to save a portion of your salary every month for future emergencies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It would be ____ to consult a lawyer before signing any agreement of this complexity.