imprudence

English

Etymology

From im- +‎ prudence. From Middle French imprudence, from Latin imprudentia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɹuːdn̩s/
• Hyphenation: im‧pru‧dence

Noun

imprudence (usually uncountable, plural imprudences)

1. (uncountable) The quality or state of being imprudent; lack of prudence, caution, discretion or circumspection.
2. (countable) An imprudent act.
   • 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

(lack of prudence): indiscretion; inconsideration; rashness; heedlessness

Translations

quality or state of being imprudent

• Bulgarian: неблагоразумие (bg) n (neblagorazumie)
• Catalan: imprudència f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: imprudentia f
• Portuguese: imprudência (pt) f
• Spanish: imprudencia (es) f

imprudent act

• Bulgarian: непредпазливост (bg) f (nepredpazlivost)
• Catalan: imprudència f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: imprudência (pt) f
• Spanish: imprudencia (es) f

References

• “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.

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pʁy.dɑ̃s/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

imprudence f (plural imprudences)

1. imprudence, rashness

Related terms

• imprudent

Further reading

• “imprudence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.