prudent

From Middle English prudent, from Old French prudent, from Latin prūdēns, contracted from prōvidēns (“foresight”) (English providence), the past participle of prōvideō (“I forsee”). Unrelated to prude. Doublet of provident.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹuːdənt/

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• Rhymes: -uːdənt

prudent (comparative more prudent, superlative most prudent)

1. Sagacious in adapting means to ends; circumspect in action, or in determining any line of conduct.

   Synonyms: careful, considerate, discreet; see also Thesaurus:cautious

   • 1864, Jules Verne, chapter 30, in Around the World in 80 Days‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 April 2012:

     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.

   • 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:

     Moses established a grave and prudent law.

2. Practically wise, judicious, shrewd.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wise

   His prudent career moves reliably brought him to the top.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 22:3:

     A prudent man foreseeth the euill, and hideth himselfe: but the simple passe on, and are punished.

   • 2025 March 5, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Remembering Brunel's timber viaducts”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 60:

     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).

3. Frugal, economical.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:frugal

   Antonym: extravagant

   Only prudent expenditure may provide quality within a restrictive budget.

• imprudent
• incontinent

• prudence
• prudent man rule
• prudently

• jurisprudence
• prudence
• prudential
• provident

• prunted, uptrend

Borrowed from Latin prūdentem.

prudent m or f (masculine and feminine plural prudents)

1. prudent

• prudentment

• prudència

• “prudent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “prudent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “prudent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “prudent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Borrowed from Latin prūdentem.

• IPA^(key): /pʁy.dɑ̃/

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prudent (feminine prudente, masculine plural prudents, feminine plural prudentes)

1. prudent, careful, cautious

   Antonym: imprudent

• prudence

• “prudent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Latin prūdēns. First attested in the 12th century.^[1]

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prudent m (feminine singular prudenta, masculine plural prudents, feminine plural prudentas)

1. prudent

   Antonym: imprudent

• prudentament

• imprudent
• prudéncia

• Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians‎^[2], 2 edition, →ISBN, page 789.

Borrowed from French prudent.

• IPA^(key): /pruˈdent/

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prudent m or n (feminine singular prudentă, masculine plural prudenți, feminine and neuter plural prudente)

1. prudent, careful, cautious

   Synonyms: precaut, atent, îngrijit

• prudență