improvident

[ im-prov-i-duhnt ]

adjective

1. not provident; lacking foresight; incautious; unwary.

   Synonyms: heedless, imprudent, careless, thoughtless

   Antonyms: prudent

2. neglecting to provide for future needs.

   Synonyms: unthrifty, prodigal, wasteful, thriftless, shiftless

   Antonyms: economical

improvident

/ ɪmˈprɒvɪdənt /

adjective

1. not provident; thriftless, imprudent, or prodigal
2. heedless or incautious; rash

Derived Forms

• imˈprovidence, noun
• imˈprovidently, adverb

Other Words From

• im·provi·dence noun
• im·provi·dent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of improvident¹

First recorded in 1505–15; im- ² + provident

Example Sentences

Government nurtured these behemoths by weaving an improvident safety net, and by practicing crony capitalism.

From The Daily Beast

The old elite worried that the masses were too improvident and seditious.

From The Daily Beast

Then as the sober days of manhood came, and Landy witnessed the finish of the improvident and foolish, he began to save and skimp.

From Project Gutenberg

How ridiculously improvident it was of the curate and Emily Gibson to fall in love with one another, wisdom could testify.

From Project Gutenberg

He is dutiful to his father, the improvident, though ambitious Charles Mari de Buonaparte.

From Project Gutenberg

In those days the people were poor and improvident, and a single failure in their crops left them in a sorry condition.

From Project Gutenberg

She found, to her dismay, that this was owing to their having eaten all the seed potatoes,—that last lapse of the improvident.

From Project Gutenberg