Meaning & use
prudent
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableformal
Showing sensible judgment by thinking ahead and avoiding needless risk, especially with money or safety.
Grammar: Can follow a linking verb or come before a noun: it is prudent to save, a prudent investor.
Patterns
- it is prudent to do something
- prudent about something
It would be prudent to check the weather before we set off on the hike.
She made a prudent decision to keep six months of expenses in savings.
The bank took a prudent approach and refused to lend more than the property was worth.
Word forms
| comparative | more prudent |
|---|---|
| superlative | most prudent |
Common combinations
- prudent to
- It is prudent to back up your files every week.
- a prudent investor
- A prudent investor spreads money across several funds.
- prudent financial management
- Prudent financial management kept the charity afloat during the crisis.
- deem it prudent
- The captain deemed it prudent to delay the departure.
- a prudent measure
- Wearing a helmet is a prudent measure on any bike ride.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sensible
- Sensible is a warmer everyday word, while prudent sounds more formal and stresses planning for risk.
- cautious
- Cautious focuses on avoiding danger, whereas prudent implies the caution is also wise and well reasoned.
- wise
- Wise is broader and can refer to deep understanding, while prudent is about practical choices.
- thrifty
- Thrifty is limited to careful spending, but prudent covers any careful decision.
Opposites
Word family
- prudence noun
- careful, sensible judgment
- prudently adverb
- in a careful and sensible way
- imprudent adjective
- lacking good judgment; unwise
- prudential adjective
- relating to careful judgment, often in formal contexts
Commonly confused: prudent or prude?
prudent vs prude
A prude is someone easily shocked by matters of sex or manners; it is unrelated to prudent, which means sensible.
Practice
Which choice best completes the sentence? Since the roads were icy, it was ___ to leave an hour earlier.
Choose one answer.
Prudent means showing good judgment about future risk, which fits leaving early because of ice. The others do not describe a sensible precaution.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prudent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.