imprudence
English
editEtymology
editFrom im- + prudence. From Middle French imprudence, from Latin imprudentia.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editimprudence (usually uncountable, plural imprudences)
- (uncountable) The quality or state of being imprudent; lack of prudence, caution, discretion or circumspection.
- (countable) An imprudent act.
- 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii:
- Ah: my dear—Madam there is the great mistake—'tis this very conscious Innocence that is of the greatest Prejudice to you—what is it makes you negligent of Forms and careless of the world's opinion—why the consciousness of your Innocence—what makes you thoughtless in your Conduct and apt to run into a thousand little imprudences—
- 1753, Theophilus Cibber, The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753)[1]:
- At about the age of twenty-three, to crown his other imprudences, he married, without improving his reduced circumstances thereby.
- 1891, Francois Coppee, Ten Tales[2]:
- Yes, for six months he threw all his medicines in the fire, and designedly committed all sorts of imprudences.
- 1903, S.C. Hill, Three Frenchmen in Bengal[3]:
- This man finally fell a victim to his diplomacies, perhaps also to his imprudences.
- 1906 – 1921, John Galsworthy, “Encounter”, in The Forsyte Saga, volume 1:
- He [Timothy Forsyte] had never committed the imprudence of marrying or encumbering himself in any way with children.
Synonyms
edit(lack of prudence): indiscretion; inconsideration; rashness; heedlessness
Translations
editquality or state of being imprudent
|
imprudent act
|
References
edit- “imprudence”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “imprudence”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
French
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Latin imprūdentia. Morphologically analyzable as imprudent + -ence.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editimprudence f (plural imprudences)
Related terms
editFurther reading
edit- “imprudence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
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- English terms derived from Latin
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- English countable nouns
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- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms suffixed with -ence
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- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
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