prudence
pru·dence/ˈpɹud(ə)n(t)s/noun
prudence is spelled P-R-U-D-E-N-C-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (pru·dence). It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Prudence, the name). As a noun, prudence means “The quality or state of being prudent: circumspection and good judgment in knowing how best to act; (countable, archaic) an instance of this” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prudence is prudences.
How many letters and syllables are in prudence?
| Letters | 8: P-R-U-D-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pru·dence |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is prudence?
Prudence appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Prudence, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prudence?
- UK /ˈpɹuːd(ə)n(t)s/
- US /ˈpɹud(ə)n(t)s/
Prudence has 2 syllables, split pru·dence in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Mélange_a_trois-prudence.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-prudence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prudence
- prudences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prudence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The quality or state of being prudent: circumspection and good judgment in knowing how best to act; (countable, archaic) an instance of this.
- 2
Synonym of frugality (“the quality of avoiding unnecessary expenditure; economy, parsimony, thrift, thriftiness”).
- 3
obsoleteSynonym of providence (“preparation for the future; foresight”).
- 4
obsoleteSynonym of wisdom (“an element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise; wise advice”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prudence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quality or state of being prudent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prudence, précaution, sagesse |
| German | Besonnenheit, Grütze, Klugheit, Umsicht |
| Portuguese | prudência, precaução, tenência, tento, tino |
| Spanish | prudencia, lastre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prudence come from?
From Middle English prudence (“discretion; foresight; knowledge; intelligence, wisdom; act of good judgment; wisdom to see what is virtuous”), from Anglo-Norman prudence, Middle French prudence, and Old French prudence (“common sense; wisdom”) (modern French prudence), and from their etymon Latin prūdentia (“common sense; discretion, prudence; foresight; knowledge; providence; skilfulness; wisdom”), from prūdent- (the stem of prūdēns (“knowledgeable, skilful; wise, prudent”)) + -ia (suffix forming first-declension feminine abstract nouns).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).