Prudent

//ˈpɹuːdənt// adj

adj ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

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

    "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."

  2. 2
    Practically wise, judicious, shrewd.

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

  3. 3
    Frugal, economical.

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

Adjective
  1. 1
    careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
circumspectconsideratediscreetjudiciousprovidentprudential

Example

More examples

"A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy."

Etymology

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.

Related phrases

prudent man rule

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