unwisdom
English
Etymology
From Middle English unwisdom, from Old English unwīsdōm, corresponding to un- + wisdom.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʌnˈwɪzdəm/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪzdəm
Noun
unwisdom (countable and uncountable, plural unwisdoms)
- Lack of wisdom; unwise conduct or action [from 9th c.]
- Synonyms: ignorance, stupidity
- 1856–1870, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth, volume (please specify |volume=I to XII), London: Longmans, Green, and Co., OCLC 5837766:
- In possession of this, he could either convince his mistress of her own unwisdom, or satisfy himself that she was right
- 1963 February, “Diesel locomotive faults and their remedies”, in Modern Railways, page 99:
- A very common engine fault, leaking joints, provides an example of the unwisdom of undertaking design modification without full service experience. [...] After only a short period of service, however, so many railways requested a reversion to the original type that the modification had to be abandoned.
- 1970, Larry Niven, Ringworld, page 115:
- [H]e spoke of the unwisdom of volunteering one's services as a guinea pig.
- 2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic 2011, p. 151:
- Reporting from Vietnam in 1945, he may have been the first person to assert the extreme unwisdom of trying to restore French colonialism with British troops.
Translations
lack of wisdom
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References
- “unwisdom”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Middle English
Alternative forms
- onwisdom, onwysdam, unwisdam, unwisdome, unwijsdam, unwijsdom, unwysdom, unwysedom
Etymology
From Old English unwīsdōm; equivalent to un- + wisdom.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /unˈwizdoːm/, /unˈwiːzdoːm/, /-am/
Noun
unwisdom (uncountable)
- idiocy, stupidity
- (rare) mistake, blunder
Descendants
- English: unwisdom
References
- “unwī̆sdọ̄̆m, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.