imprudence

American  

[im-prood-ns] / ɪmˈprud ns /

Rarely imprudency

noun

1. lack of wisdom or care in the management of practical or economic affairs.

   Your decisions demonstrate fiscal imprudence and shortsighted thinking.

2. lack of discretion or caution.

   The whistleblower learned of the scheme through the hiring executive's imprudence.

3. disregard for one’s own interests.

   His own imprudence and unreasonable conduct are what caused the second injury.

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Etymology

Origin of imprudence

First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French, from Latin imprūdentia; in- ³ ( def. ), prudence

Explanation

Imprudence sometimes gets people in trouble, because it means a lack of care or thoughtfulness. The imprudence of not wearing your gloves in the winter might result in frostbite on your fingers. A person's imprudence is her tendency to rush headlong into decisions or actions without careful contemplation. Imprudence could lead a couple to get married just a week after meeting each other or a little girl to chase a run-away ball into a busy street. The Latin root word is imprudentem means "not forseeing, unaware, or inconsiderate."

Example Sentences

Critics say this "financial imprudence" has drained much of the country's economic resources and created unprecedented levels of debt that have crippled the economy.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2023

“The events of the last days show the imprudence of not having diversified our sources of energy and our providers in recent decades,” said Italian Premier Mario Draghi in parliament on Friday.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2022

Correspondence showed they repeatedly rejected the information outright as rumor and excused it as an "imprudence."

From Fox News • Sep. 3, 2021

This was a choice made willingly and without imprudence, grounded in the foundational values of my medical training—compassion for suffering, a desire to heal, a responsibility to mankind.

From Slate • Jun. 1, 2020

Of how, with the imprudence of youth, the woman decided to test it to see if it really worked.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy