Skip to main content
PlainSpell

wise

/waɪz/adjective, verb

wise is spelled W-I-S-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, wise means “Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in wise?

Letters4: W-I-S-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is wise?

Wise appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce wise?

  • /waɪz/

Wise has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wise.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of wise

  • wiser comparative
  • more wise comparative
  • wisest superlative
  • most wise superlative
  • wises present, singular, he/she/it
  • wising participle, present
  • wised participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does wise mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.

    Storing extra food for the winter was a wise decision.

  2. 2

    colloquialDisrespectful.

    Don't get wise with me!

  3. 3

    colloquialAware, informed (to something).

    Be careful: the boss is wise to your plan to call out sick.

verb

  1. 1

    To become wise.

  2. 2

    slangUsually with "up", to inform or learn.

    Mo wised him up about his situation.

  3. 3

    To instruct.

  4. 4

    To advise; induce.

  5. 5

    To show the way, guide.

  6. 6

    To direct the course of, pilot.

  7. 7

    To cause to turn.

noun

as WISE
  1. 1

    Acronym of wing-in-surface effect.

noun

  1. 1

    archaicWay, manner, or method.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Wise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsage (showing good judgement)
Germanweise, klug (showing good judgement), -mäßig (in the matter of), -weise (one (thing) at a time)
Portuguesesábio, sensato (showing good judgement)
Spanishsabio, juicioso, sapiente (showing good judgement), en cuanto a, en lo que refiere a, en términos de (in the matter of)

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 wise come from?

From Middle English wys, wyse, from Old English wīs (“wise”), from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz (“knowledgeable, wise”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéydos (“seeing; knowledge”), from *weyd- (“to see”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after wise