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PRUDENCE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Discretion in practical affairs
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("prudence" is a kind of...):
natural virtue ((scholasticism) one of the four virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) derived from nature)
discernment; discretion (the trait of judging wisely and objectively)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "prudence"):
providence (the prudence and care exercised by someone in the management of resources)
frugality; frugalness (prudence in avoiding waste)
Antonym:
imprudence (a lack of caution in practical affairs)
Derivation:
prudential (arising from or characterized by prudence especially in business matters)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress
Example:
the servants showed great tact and discretion
Synonyms:
circumspection; discreetness; discretion; prudence
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("prudence" is a kind of...):
discernment; judgement; judgment; sagaciousness; sagacity (the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "prudence"):
confidentiality (discretion in keeping secret information)
Derivation:
prudent (careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment)
Context examples:
But there was still something lurking behind, of which prudence forbade the disclosure.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Prudence, on the one hand, warned me that I should remain on guard, but exhausted Nature, on the other, declared that I should do nothing of the kind.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Nor must I delay too long to bring my writing to an end; for if my narrative has hitherto escaped destruction, it has been by a combination of great prudence and great good luck.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Patience and prudence.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Having married on a narrower income than she had been used to look forward to, she had, from the first, fancied a very strict line of economy necessary; and what was begun as a matter of prudence, soon grew into a matter of choice, as an object of that needful solicitude which there were no children to supply.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Few people of common prudence will do THAT; and whatever she saves, she will be able to dispose of.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Mrs. March smiled, as if well pleased, and Jo clapped her hands, exclaiming, with a laugh, You are almost equal to Caroline Percy, who was a pattern of prudence!
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I leave to your prudence what measures you will take; and to avoid suspicion, I must immediately return in as private a manner as I came.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
You appear to me a little hoarse already, and when you consider what demand of voice and what fatigues to-morrow will bring, I think it would be no more than common prudence to stay at home and take care of yourself to-night.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
