imprudence

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ɪmˈprudəns/ UK /ɪmˈpruːdəns/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
lack of caution or good judgment; rashness

His financial imprudence soon swallowed the family's savings.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · lack of caution or good... rashness recklessness carelessness indiscretion folly heedlessness

Opposites

prudence caution discretion

Word family

Related forms imprudent prudent prudence

Etymology

From Latin imprudentia ('want of foresight, ignorance'), from imprudens ('unaware, imprudent'), from in- ('not') + prudens ('foreseeing, prudent'), a contraction of providens ('foreseeing').

imprudentia Latin prudens Latin providere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Word Formation & Derivatives

# imprudence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ɪmˈprudəns
**IPA (UK):** ɪmˈpruːdəns

## Meanings
1. lack of caution or good judgment; rashness

## Examples
- His financial imprudence soon swallowed the family's savings.

## Synonyms
- rashness
- recklessness
- carelessness
- indiscretion
- folly
- heedlessness

## Antonyms
- prudence
- caution
- discretion

## Related Forms
- imprudent
- prudent
- prudence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: imprudentia
- Root: prudens
- Root: providere

## Etymology
From Latin imprudentia ('want of foresight, ignorance'), from imprudens ('unaware, imprudent'), from in- ('not') + prudens ('foreseeing, prudent'), a contraction of providens ('foreseeing').

## AI Etymology
imprudence comes from Latin imprudentia ('want of foresight, ignorance'), from imprudens ('unaware, imprudent'), from in- ('not') + prudens ('foreseeing, prudent'), a contraction of providens ('foreseeing'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "lack of caution or good judgment; rashness", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as imprudent, prudent, and prudence. Its semantic neighborhood includes rashness, recklessness, carelessness, and indiscretion, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin imprudentia, Latin prudens, and Latin providere.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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