unwise

[uhn-wahyz]

adjective

more unwise, most unwise 

1. not wise; lacking in good sense or judgment; foolish; imprudent.

   an unwise choice;

   an unwise man.

unwise

/ ʌnˈwaɪz /

adjective

1. lacking wisdom or prudence; foolish

Other Word Forms

• unwisely adverb
• unwiseness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unwise¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English unwis(e), unwisse, Old English unwīs “unwise, foolish, mad, insane”; un- ¹, wise ¹

Example Sentences

“It broke my heart that I had only my Freddy. How I would have loved a bigger family, and especially a sweet little girl to spoil, like Cassagurr! But that would have been unwise.”

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Inflation, he wrote, is “a choice,” and the Fed’s recent record has been marked by “unwise choices” under Powell.

Read more on Barron's

Second, inflation is a choice, and the Fed’s track record under Chairman Jerome Powell is one of unwise choices.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“It would be unwise to disregard the U.S. consumer, which remains the backbone of the economy,” Naomi Fink, chief global strategist at Amova Asset Management, wrote in a note.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Others though would say Musk's extraordinary track record of entrepreneurship would make it unwise to bet against him, even when the sum being staked is as dizzyingly high as $1tn.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• foolhardy 
• foolish 
• ill-advised 
• ill-considered 
• imprudent 
• inappropriate 
• misguided 
• naive 
• reckless 
• silly 
• thoughtless 
• undesirable 
• unfortunate 
• unsound