Standard Lemma guide

prudent

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • pro͞o′dənt
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpɹuː.dənt/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈpɹu.dənt/
  • California, Southern: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈpɹʉː.dənt/
  • Scotland: /ˈpɹʉ.dənt/
  • Scotland: /ˈpɹʉd.ʌnt/
  • rhymes with -uːdənt
  • CMU ARPABET: P R UW1 D AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • It is prudent to consult a physician before beginning any new exercise regimen.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: careful, considerate, discreet, alert, attentive, cautelous, cautious, canny, chary, circumspect, conservative, deliberate, guarded, heedful, heedy, hesitant, meticulous, mindful, prudent, reckful, safe, sensible, shy, slow, tentative, timid, timorous, well-advised, wary

Antonyms: careless, cursory, derelict, heedless, irregardless, irrespective, lash, lax, neglectful, negligent, reckless, regardless, remiss, slack, slapdash, sloppy, slovenly, slipshod, unfaithful, daring, devil-may-care, headstrong, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, precipitant, precipitate, precipitous, quick-and-dirty, rash, sudden, temeritous

2

adj

Meaning 2

Practically wise, judicious, shrewd.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • His prudent career moves reliably brought him to the top.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: astute, clairvoyant, deep, frood, grounded, judicious, oracular, perspicacious, politic, profound, prudent, quick-witted, reasonable, sagacious, sage, sapient, sensible, wise, witful

Antonyms: asinine, balmy, barmy, bedaft, loony, daft, derpy, dim-headed, dim-witted, dopey, dull-headed, dull-witted, dumb, duncical, fatuous, fuzzy-headed, fuzzy-minded, gauvison, goofy, idiotic, idle, insipient, mookish, naive, silly, simple, slight, slow-witted, softheaded, soft in the head, sottish, stupid, thick, unsage, unwise, wool-headed, woolly-headed, woolly-minded, crackpot, dense

3

adj

Meaning 3

Frugal; economical; not extravagant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Only prudent expenditure may provide quality within a restrictive budget.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abstemious, canny, chary, moderate, cheap, close with a buck, economic, economical, frugal, husbandly, huswifely, parsimonious, penny-pinching, prudent, spareful, sparing, spary, thrifty, tight, tightwad

Antonyms: extravagant, improvident, imprudent, lavish, loose-handed, prodigal, profligate, reckless, spendthrift, squandering, uneconomical, unthrifty, wasteful

4

adjective

Meaning 4

careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a prudent manager
  • prudent rulers
  • prudent hesitation
  • more prudent to hide than to fight

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: imprudent

History

Etymology

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. Displaced native Old English glēaw.

Across languages

Translations

100 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: حَرِيص (ḥarīṣ) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Arabic: حَكِيم (ḥakīm) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Arabic: حريص (ḥarīṣ) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Bulgarian: предпазлив (predpazliv) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Bulgarian: благоразумен (blagorazumen) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Catalan: prudent — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Chinese Mandarin: 謹慎 /谨慎 (jǐnshèn) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Chinese Mandarin: 慎重 (shènzhòng) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Danish: fornuftig — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Danish: tilrådelig — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Dutch: voorzichtig — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Dutch: omzichtig — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Dutch: vooruitziend — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Dutch: prudent — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Esperanto: prudenta — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Finnish: harkitsevainen — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Finnish: varovainen — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Finnish: viisas — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Galician: prudente — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Georgian: გონივრული (gonivruli) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Georgian: გონებადამჯდარი (gonebadamǯdari) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Georgian: წინდახედული (c̣indaxeduli) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • German: umsichtig — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • German: vorsichtig — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Ancient Greek: φρόνιμος (phrónimos) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Ancient Greek: πινυτός (pinutós) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Ancient Greek: ἔμφρων (émphrōn) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Ancient Greek: εὔβουλος (eúboulos) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Italian: prudente — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Japanese: 慎重 (shinchō) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Latin: prūdens — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Latin: cordātus — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Macedonian: пре́тпазлив (prétpazliv) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Macedonian: благора́зумен (blagorázumen) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Macedonian: ра́судлив (rásudliv) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Māori: matawhāiti — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Norwegian Bokmål: aktsom — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Occitan: prudent — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Polish: przezorny — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Portuguese: prudente — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Russian: рассуди́тельный (rassudítelʹnyj) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Russian: благоразу́мный (blagorazúmnyj) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Russian: осторо́жный (ostoróžnyj) — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Scottish Gaelic: glic — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Slovene: preudaren — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Spanish: prudente — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Swedish: förtänksam — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Turkish: ihtiyatlı — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Turkish: tedbirli — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Turkish: sakıngan — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Turkish: önlemli — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Turkish: sakıntılı — sagacious in adapting means to ends
  • Bulgarian: разсъдлив (razsǎdliv) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Bulgarian: пресметлив (presmetliv) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Dutch: slim — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Dutch: sluw — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Dutch: beredeneerd — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Dutch: doordacht — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Esperanto: prudenta — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Finnish: harkitsevainen — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Galician: prudente — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Georgian: გონივრული (gonivruli) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Georgian: გონებადამჯდარი (gonebadamǯdari) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Georgian: წინდახედული (c̣indaxeduli) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Latin: prūdens — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Macedonian: ра́судлив (rásudliv) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Macedonian: пре́сметлив (présmetliv) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Macedonian: и́тар (ítar) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Māori: matawhāiti — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Polish: roztropny — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Portuguese: prudente — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Russian: проница́тельный (pronicátelʹnyj) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Sanskrit: कवि (kavi) — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Scottish Gaelic: glic — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Spanish: prudente — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Spanish: criterioso — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Spanish: cauto — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Swedish: slug — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Swedish: klok — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Tocharian B: imassu — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Turkish: ihtiyatlı — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Turkish: tedbirli — practically wise, judicious, shrewd
  • Arabic: حَرِيص (ḥarīṣ) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Bulgarian: пестелив (pesteliv) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Dutch: zuinig — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Dutch: economisch — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Finnish: harkitsevainen — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Galician: prudente — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Georgian: მომჭირნე (momč̣irne) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Georgian: დამზოგველი (damzogveli) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Georgian: ყაირათიანი (q̇airatiani) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Ancient Greek: ἔμφρων (émphrōn) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Macedonian: ште́длив (štédliv) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Macedonian: шкрт (škrt) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Polish: oszczędny — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Portuguese: prudente — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Russian: бережли́вый (berežlívyj) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Russian: расчётливый (rasčótlivyj) — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Spanish: prudente — frugal; economical; not extravagant
  • Turkish: tutumlu — frugal; economical; not extravagant