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wisdom

/ˈwɪzdəm/

/ˈwɪzdəm/

IPA guide

Other forms: wisdoms

Wisdom is the combination of experience, knowledge and careful judgment. If you've got it, you're "wise." If you haven't, well don't worry, most of us don't either.

Wisdom is also the term we give to the sum total of a culture's knowledge and application of that knowledge, acquired over time. We talk about "the wisdom of the ancient Greeks," for example, meaning everything about their culture from their scientific and philosophical discoveries to the art and culture they created. Don't confuse wisdom with knowledge — which is merely the accumulation of facts with no sense of what meaning to make from them.

Definitions of wisdom
  1. noun
    accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
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    types:
    abstruseness, abstrusity, profoundness, profundity, reconditeness
    wisdom that is recondite and abstruse and profound
    type of:
    cognitive content, content, mental object
    the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
  2. noun
    the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight
    synonyms: wiseness
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    antonyms:
    folly, foolishness, unwiseness
    the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
    types:
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    judiciousness, sagaciousness, sagacity
    the trait of forming opinions by distinguishing and evaluating
    initiation, knowledgeability, knowledgeableness
    wisdom as evidenced by the possession of knowledge
    diplomacy, statecraft, statesmanship
    wisdom in the management of public affairs
    discernment, discretion
    the trait of judging wisely and objectively
    caution, circumspection
    the trait of being circumspect and prudent
    prudence
    discretion in practical affairs
    type of:
    trait
    a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
  3. noun
    ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight
    synonyms: sapience
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    types:
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    astuteness, deepness, depth, profoundness, profundity
    the intellectual ability to penetrate deeply into ideas
    discernment, judgement, judgment, sagaciousness, sagacity
    the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations
    eye
    good discernment (either visually or as if visually)
    common sense, good sense, gumption, horse sense, mother wit, sense
    sound practical judgment
    judiciousness
    good judgment
    circumspection, discreetness, discretion, prudence
    knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress
    indiscreetness, injudiciousness
    lacking good judgment
    type of:
    know-how
    the (technical) knowledge and skill required to do something
  4. noun
    the quality of being prudent and sensible
    synonyms: soundness, wiseness
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    antonyms:
    unsoundness
    not mentally or physically healthy
    types:
    advisability
    the quality of being advisable
    reasonableness
    goodness of reason and judgment
    sensibleness
    the quality of showing good sense or practical judgment
    type of:
    good, goodness
    that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
Pronunciation
US

/ˈwɪzdəm/

UK

/ˈwɪzdəm/

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