ill-advised

American  

[il-uhd-vahyzd] / ˈɪl ədˈvaɪzd /

adjective

1. acting or done without due consideration; imprudent.

   an ill-advised remark.

   Synonyms:

   senseless, ill-judged, shortsighted, unwise

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ill-advised British  

adjective

1. acting without reasonable care or thought

   you would be ill-advised to sell your house now

2. badly thought out; not or insufficiently considered

   an ill-advised plan of action

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Other Word Forms

• ill-advisedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ill-advised

First recorded in 1585–95

Explanation

An ill-advised decision is one that isn't smart or thoughtful. It would be ill-advised to adopt all the dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs from your local animal shelter — especially without consulting your family members first. This adjective is basically a polite way to say "just plain stupid." Political commentators may judiciously criticize a policy decision as ill-advised if they think it's a bad idea. Your mom might respond to your brother's request to let his pet chicken sleep in bed with him by calmly saying, "That would be ill-advised." The word implies that you've been given bad advice, which may be true, but it's generally your own recklessness that leads you to do something ill-advised.

Related Words

• foolhardy
• foolish
• half-baked
• ill-considered
• imprudent
• inappropriate
• indiscreet
• misguided
• reckless
• thoughtless