Imprudence

//ɪmˈpɹuːdn̩s// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The quality or state of being imprudent; lack of prudence, caution, discretion or circumspection. uncountable, usually

    "[Hamilton were to have said:] nothing but a permanent body can check the imprudence of democracy."

  2. 2
    a lack of caution in practical affairs wordnet
  3. 3
    An imprudent act. countable, usually

    "Ah: my dear—Madam there is the great mistake—'tis this very conscious Innocence that is of the greatest Prejudice to you—what is it makes you negligent of Forms and careless of the world's opinion—why the consciousness of your Innocence—what makes you thoughtless in your Conduct and apt to run into a thousand little imprudences—"

Synonyms

All synonyms
foolishnessabsurdityact of follyblunderbrashnessbrass

Example

More examples

"[Hamilton were to have said:] nothing but a permanent body can check the imprudence of democracy."

Etymology

From im- + prudence. From Middle French imprudence, from Latin imprudentia.

More for "imprudence"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.