# prudence

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɹuːd(ə)n(t)s/ · frequency rank #26,210

## Definitions
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. Synonym of providence (“preparation for the future; foresight”).
4. Synonym of wisdom (“an element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise; wise advice”).

## Etymology
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). Prūdēns is a contraction of prōvidēns (“caring for; foreseeing; providing”) (whence prōvidentia (“foreknowledge, foresight; forethought, precaution, providence”)), the present active participle of prōvideō (“to care for, look after; to foresee; to provide, see to”), from prō- (prefix meaning ‘forward; prior’) + videō (“to perceive, see; to comprehend, understand; to look out for, care for”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see; to know”)). Doublet of provide and purvey.

## Easily confused with
- **prudent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prudence-vs-prudent)
- **presence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/presence-vs-prudence)
- **Provence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/provence-vs-prudence)
- **pretence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pretence-vs-prudence)

## Common misspellings (13)
`pprudence`, `prduence`, `prrudence`, `prudance`, `pruddence`, `prudecne`, `prudencce`, `prudenec`, `prudennce`, `prudnece`, `pruednce`, `purdence`, `rpudence`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/prudence