Standard Lemma guide

wisely

adv · name · 3 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.

  • /ˈwaɪzli/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -aɪzli
  • CMU ARPABET: W AY1 Z L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

In a wise manner; using good judgement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • She wisely decided to re-check her homework before submitting it.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adverb

Meaning 3

in a wise manner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • she acted wisely when she invited her parents

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sagely

Antonyms: foolishly

History

Etymology

From Middle English wisliche, wislike, from Old English wīslīċe (“wisely”, adverb), equivalent to wise + -ly.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: sàviament — in a wise manner
  • Czech: moudře — in a wise manner
  • Dutch: wijselijk — in a wise manner
  • Finnish: viisaasti — in a wise manner
  • French: sagement — in a wise manner
  • French: savamment — in a wise manner
  • Galician: sabiamente — in a wise manner
  • German: weise — in a wise manner
  • Greek: σοφά (sofá) — in a wise manner
  • Ancient Greek: σοφῶς (sophôs) — in a wise manner
  • Icelandic: viturlega — in a wise manner
  • Icelandic: skynsamlega — in a wise manner
  • Italian: saggiamente — in a wise manner
  • Italian: coscienziosamente — in a wise manner
  • Italian: intelligentemente — in a wise manner
  • Latin: sapienter — in a wise manner
  • Macedonian: мудро (mudro) — in a wise manner
  • Old English: snotorlīċe — in a wise manner
  • Plautdietsch: weislich — in a wise manner
  • Portuguese: sabiamente — in a wise manner
  • Russian: му́дро (múdro) — in a wise manner
  • Spanish: sabiamente — in a wise manner
  • Turkish: akıllıca — in a wise manner
  • Turkish: bilgece — in a wise manner
  • Ukrainian: му́дро (múdro) — in a wise manner
  • Walloon: saedjmint — in a wise manner