wise

views updated May 11 2018

wise1 / wīz/ • adj. having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgment: she seems kind and wise a wise precaution. ∎  responding sensibly or shrewdly to a particular situation: it would be wise to discuss the matter with the chairman of the committee. ∎  having knowledge in a specified subject: families wise in the way of hurricane survival. ∎  (wise to) inf. alert to or aware of: at seven she was already wise to the police.PHRASES: get wise become alert or aware: the birds get wise and figure out it's just noise.be wise after the event understand and assess an event or situation only after its implications have become obvious.be none (or not any) the wiser know no more than before.PHRASAL VERBS: wise off Informal make wisecracks: Jake and I would wise off to him.wise up [often in imper.] inf. become alert to or aware of something: wise up and sort yourselves out before it's too late.DERIVATIVES: wise·ly adv.wise2 • n. archaic the manner or extent of something: he did it this wise.PHRASES: in no wise not at all.

wise

views updated May 23 2018

wise it is easy to be wise after the event proverbial saying, early 17th century, meaning that the difficult thing is to make a correct judgement without the benefit of hindsight.
it is a wise child that knows its own father proverbial saying, late 16th century, meaning that a child's legal paternity might not reflect an actual blood link.
Wise Men of Gotham fools (Gotham was proverbial for the folly of its inhabitants).
wise use environmental policy which favours stricter controls on existing methods of exploiting natural resources, as opposed to policies which seek either to find alternative resources or to prevent such exploitation altogether.
wise woman a woman considered to be knowledgeable in matters such as herbal healing, magic charms, or other traditional lore.

See also early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, a fool may give a wise man counsel, fools ask questions that wise men cannot answer, where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise, one cannot love and be wise, three wise monkeys at monkey, penny wise and pound foolish, a word to the wise.

wise

views updated Jun 11 2018

wise1 (arch.) manner, fashion. OE. wīse (rarely wīs) mode, condition, thing, cause, corr. to OS. wīsa (Du. wijze), OHG. wīs(a) manner, custom (G. weise), ON. *vīs in ǫðruvís otherwise:- Gmc. *wīsōn, *wīsō, f. *wit- WIT2.

wise

views updated May 29 2018

wise2 having sound judgement; †learned OE.; informed XII. OE. wīs = OS., OHG. wīs(i) (Du. wijs, G. weise), ON. viss, Goth. -weis :- Gmc. *wīsaz :- *wīttos, f. IE. *weid- WIT2 + ppl. suffix *-tos.

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