adjective
-
discreet or cautious in managing one's activities; circumspect
-
practical and careful in providing for the future
-
exercising good judgment or common sense
Other Word Forms
- nonprudent adjective
- preprudent adjective
- prudently adverb
- superprudent adjective
- unprudent adjective
Etymology
Origin of prudent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin prūdent- (stem of prūdēns ), contraction of prōvidēns provident
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So, in the short-term, Subramaniam said: "I would say the prudent course for the Bank of England would be to remain on hold."
From BBC
The president’s strategy is coherent and prudent: By systematically pressuring exposed adversaries, the influence of strategic rivals is undercut.
Given all the questions raised and left unanswered by the ruling, Rosenfeld said it wasn’t prudent to provide an outlook for profit at this time.
From MarketWatch
It is likely the company is taking a prudent approach to guidance given the ongoing weakness in the housing market and resurfaced uncertainty around tariffs, wrote Steven Shemesh, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
From Barron's
They are making a prudent decision by focusing instead on school and work.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
