wisdom
The ability to make good decisions because you know a lot and think carefully.
The ability to make sound judgments and choices based on knowledge, experience, and careful thought.
A belief that most people think is true, often without thinking about it much.
A generally accepted belief or opinion shared by many people, especially one that is often repeated and not always questioned.
A single wise idea or piece of advice that helps you.
A particular wise idea, remark, or piece of advice that helps someone understand what to do or how to think about something.
A large back tooth that grows when you are a young adult, often called a wisdom tooth.
A wisdom tooth, one of the four large teeth at the very back of the mouth that usually appear in late teenage years or early adulthood.
Very deep understanding of life or truth, often in religion or philosophy.
Profound understanding of life, human nature, or reality, often connected with spiritual, religious, or philosophical thought.
- Base: wisdom
- Plural: wisdom, wisdoms
a fount of wisdom
1person full of wise ideas
Someone who knows a lot and often gives very wise advice or information.
- My grandmother is a fount of wisdom when it comes to family problems.
- The book is a fount of wisdom on how to lead a simple, happy life.
in someone's infinite wisdom
1sarcastic comment about a decision
A sarcastic way to say that someone’s decision was not wise, even though you pretend to call them very wise.
- Management, in its infinite wisdom, decided to cut customer support on weekends.
- Our landlord, in his infinite wisdom, painted all the windows shut.
pearl of wisdom
1short, valuable wise remark
A short and very wise piece of advice or comment, sometimes said jokingly or ironically.
- He’s always ready with another pearl of wisdom about how to save money.
- Our manager offered this pearl of wisdom: "If everything is a priority, nothing is."
received wisdom
1accepted but unexamined belief
A belief that people accept because it has been repeated for a long time, not because they have checked it themselves.
- The book challenges the received wisdom about how children learn languages.
- For years, the received wisdom was that fat is always bad for you.
the wisdom of hindsight
1understanding something after it happens
The understanding you have about a decision or event after it has happened, when it is easy to see what was right or wrong.
- With the wisdom of hindsight, we can see that the warnings were clear.
- The decision seems foolish now, but that is only with the wisdom of hindsight.
the wisdom of the ages
1traditional wisdom over centuries
The wise ideas and knowledge that people have collected over a very long time, across many generations.
- Proverbs often contain the wisdom of the ages in a few simple words.
- The course explores the wisdom of the ages from different cultures.
words of wisdom
1spoken wise advice
Wise and helpful things that someone says, often as advice.
- Before we left home, my mother gave us a few words of wisdom about staying safe.
- The speech was full of words of wisdom for young graduates.
conventional wisdom
1Widely accepted belief
The idea that most people believe is true, even if it may not be.
- Conventional wisdom says you should buy a home instead of renting.
- Conventional wisdom says you should change jobs every few years to advance your career.
- It goes against conventional wisdom to invest during a recession.
- He went against conventional wisdom by dropping out of college to start a business.