unwise
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unwise
First recorded before 900; Middle English unwis(e), unwisse, Old English unwīs “unwise, foolish, mad, insane”; see origin at un- 1, wise 1
Explanation
Doing something unwise means acting in a foolish or irrational way. It would be unwise to bring your cat to the library with you — you'll probably get in trouble, and the cat is unlikely to enjoy it. Wise means "having sound judgment or intelligence," and when you add the prefix un-, or "not," you get the exact opposite. Making an unwise choice means you're not using your good sense to consider all possible consequences. It would be unwise to wear shorts on the coldest day of the year, and even more unwise to walk barefoot to school in the snow. Use your common sense and wisdom and you'll avoid making unwise decisions!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is hard - and probably unwise - to take your eyes off Medvedev's matches, and he is very popular with the media for his engaging, reflective and humorous interviews once the dust has settled.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
This can be especially unwise if the saver is selling taxable assets to fund the Roth contributions, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
I need to acknowledge up front that it is unwise for anybody—including me—to deduce any comprehensive conclusions about the Democratic Party and where it’s headed from Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary last week.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway argued that the congresswoman’s video was a “sad public performance/display of unnecessarily unwise decision making.”
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
In the charged atmosphere after Littleton, it struck me as unwise to circulate such extreme stories among kids who already felt vulnerable and angry.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
