Wise
Contents
English
Adjective
Wise (comparative wiser, superlative wisest)
- Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.
- Storing extra food for the winter was a wise decision.
- They were considered the wise old men of the administration.
- (colloquial) Disrespectful.
- Don't get wise with me!
Notes
- Objects: person, decision, advice, counsel, saying, etc.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Verb
Wise (third-person singular simple present wises, present participle wising, simple past and past participle wised)
- To become wise.
- (transitive, slang) Usually with "up", to inform.
- Mo wised him up about his situation.
- (intransitive, slang) Usually with "up", to learn.
- After Mo had a word with him, he wised up.
Noun
Wise (plural Wises)- (archaic) Way, manner.
- 1850 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Burden of Nineveh, lines 2-5
- ... the prize
- Dead Greece vouchsafes to living eyes, —
- Her Art for ever in fresh wise
- From hour to hour rejoicing me.
- 1866, Algernon Swinburne, A Ballad of Life, lines 28-30
- A riven hood was pulled across his eyes;
- The token of him being upon this wise
- Made for a sign of Lust.
- 1850 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Burden of Nineveh, lines 2-5
Derived terms
Verb
Wise (third-person singular simple present wises, present participle wising, simple past and past participle wised)
- (dialectal) to instruct
- (dialectal) to advise; induce
- (dialectal) to show the way, guide
- (dialectal) to direct the course of, pilot
- (dialectal) to cause to turn
Adverbs for Wise
infinitely; unassailably; astutely; incomparably; surpassingly; particularly; ripely; expertly; sufficiently; supremely; honestly; darkly; cunningly; cleverly; divinely; magisterially; genially; ruthlessly; eternally; detestably; whimsically; significantly; pointedly; prophetically; affectionately; modestly; indubitably; scarcely; financially; discreetly; practically; profoundly; politically; usually; selfishly; surprisingly; undeniably; instinctively; intuitively; sensibly; judicially; capably; sagaciously; acutely; intelligently; sagely; cannily; coolly; equitably; solidly; discerningly.
Thesaurus
MO, abstruse, acute, advantageous, advisable, alert, algorithm, all-knowing, angle, apperceptive, appercipient, apprehending, apprehensive, approach, appropriate, arrogant, artful, aspect, astute, attack, aware, becoming, befitting, biggety, bold, bold-faced, brash, bright, broad-minded, cagey, canny, cheeky, civilized, cocky, cogitative, cognizant, comprehending, configuration, congruous, conscious, contemplative, convenient, course, crafty, cultivated, cultured, cunning, decent, deep, desirable, discerning, discreet, educated, effect, eidolon, encyclopedic, erudite, expedient, facet, fashion, favorable, feasible, feature, felicitous, figure, fit, fitten, fitting, flip, flippant, foresighted, form, forward, fresh, fructuous, gestalt, gnostic, good, grasping, guise, happy, hardheaded, hep, hoaxproof, image, imago, impertinent, impression, impudent, insightful, insolent, intelligent, intuitive, judicious, keen, knowing, knowledgeable, learned, lettered, light, likely, likeness, line, line of action, lineaments, lines, lippy, literate, look, manner, manner of working, means, meet, method, methodology, mindful, mode, mode of operation, mode of procedure, modus, modus operandi, nervy, nimble-witted, not born yesterday, omniscient, on the beam, opportune, order, pansophic, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, pert, phase, phasis, politic, polyhistoric, polymath, polymathic, practical, practice, prehensile, procacious, procedure, proceeding, process, profitable, profound, proper, provident, prudent, quick, quick-witted, realistic, recommendable, reference, reflective, regard, respect, right, routine, sagacious, sage, sane, sapient, sassy, saucy, scholarly, scholastic, seasonable, seeming, seemly, semblance, sensible, sensing, shape, sharp, sharp-witted, shrewd, side, simulacrum, slant, slick, slippery, smart, smart-alecky, smooth, sophic, sophisticated, sortable, steel-trap, studious, style, suitable, system, tack, tactical, technique, the drill, the how, the way of, thoughtful, timely, to be desired, tone, total effect, tough-minded, tricky, twist, uncullible, undeceivable, undeludable, understanding, undupable, unfoolable, ungullible, unhoaxable, unseduceable, useful, view, viewpoint, way, well-timed, wily, wise as Solomon, worthwhile
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old English wīs, from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from a participle form of Proto-Indo-European *weyd-. Cognate with Dutch wijs, German weise, Swedish vis. Compare wit.
Etymology 2
From Old English wīse, from Proto-Germanic *wīsō. Cognate with Dutch wijze, German Weise, Swedish visa, vis, Italian guisa, Spanish guisa. Compare -wise.
Etymology 3
From Middle English wisen (“to advise, direct”), from Old English wisian (“to show the way, guide, direct”), from Proto-Germanic *wīsanan, *wīsijanan (“to show the way, dispense knowledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know”). Cognate with Dutch wijzen (“to indicate, point out”), German weisen (“to show, indicate”), Danish vise (“to show”).
Translations
Adjective
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Statistics
- Most common English words before 1923: forget · break · Roman · #864: wise · watch · equal · afternoon
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