Basic Details
Word: Prudence
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Good sense and care in making decisions, especially by avoiding unnecessary risks.
Synonyms: caution, wisdom, good sense, care
Antonyms: recklessness, rashness, carelessness
Word origin: From Latin prudentia, foresight.
How to Spell Prudence
Syllables: pru - dence
Tricky part: Prudence finishes in ence, matching prudent. Prudance and prudense are the slips to watch for.
Watch out for: prudance, prudense, prudince
Memory tip: Swap the final t of prudent for ce and you have prudence. The e before the n never changes, so the ending stays ence.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Saving part of your pocket money each month shows prudence.
Example 2: The captain showed prudence by turning the boat back before the storm.
Example 3: With a little prudence, the family managed to stay within its budget.
Fun Fact
Prudence is one of the four cardinal virtues of ancient and medieval thought, along with justice, courage and temperance.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. dilemna 2. liesure 3. embarassment 4. prudence
a) good sense and care in making decisions
b) a feeling of awkwardness or shame
c) free time for rest or enjoyment
d) a situation that needs a hard choice
Show answer
a) good sense and care in making decisions. Dilemma ends in mma, embarrassment has two r's and leisure starts lei; prudence is the only correct spelling.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word prudence as used in the sentence:
Mr Rao handled the school's money with great prudence and never wasted a rupee.
a) foresight
b) wisdom
c) recklessness
d) caution
Show answer
c) recklessness. Caution, wisdom and foresight are all close to prudence; taking careless risks is its opposite.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
prud_nc_
a) e, e
b) e, i
c) i, e
d) a, e
Show answer
a) e, e. Prudent has an e before nt, and that e carries over into prudence, which also ends in e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which action shows prudence?
a) spending all savings on one game
b) running across a busy road
c) lending money to a stranger
d) checking the weather before a trek
Show answer
d) checking the weather before a trek
2. Prudence is the noun form of the adjective ____.
a) provident
b) proud
c) prudish
d) prudent
Show answer
d) prudent
