Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Unwise or indiscreet; not prudent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not prudent; wanting prudence or discretion; not careful of consequences; indiscreet; rash; heedless.
  • Synonyms Incautious, careless, unadvised, inconsiderate.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not prudent; wanting in prudence or discretion; indiscreet; injudicious; not attentive to consequence; improper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Not prudent; wanting in prudence or discretion; indiscreet; injudicious; not attentive to consequence; improper.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not prudent or wise
  • adjective lacking wise self-restraint

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin imprudens ("not foreseeing, ignorant"), prefix im-, not + prudens ("foreseeing, skilled, judicious")

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Examples

  • The State Department is vowing to get to the bottom of what it calls imprudent curiosity.

    CNN Transcript Mar 21, 2008 2008

  • On their arrival at the house of the latter, he strongly reprobated what he termed the imprudent application of the

    The Monk and the Vine-dresser: or, the Emigrants of Bellesme Anonymous 1809

  • Juris imprudent is quite right to call you out on this.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Justice Thomas and Judge Reinhardt 2010

  • The Bishop's remark was not 'imprudent' - it was plain 100\% false.

    CathNews 2009

  • The State Department though, Rob, is treating this as sort of a step-by-step methodical process, and they're also treating all three instances as cases by these individuals of what they're calling imprudent curiosity, saying they're not just being dismissive of the whole thing.

    CNN Transcript Mar 21, 2008 2008

  • And it must be admitted that Mr Palliser had been a little imprudent — imprudent, that is, if he knew anything about the rumours afloat — seeing that soon after his visit at Courcy

    The Small House at Allington 2004

  • And it must be admitted that Mr Palliser had been a little imprudent, -- imprudent, that is, if he knew anything about the rumours afloat, -- seeing that soon after his visit at Courcy Castle he had gone down to Lady Hartletop's place in Shropshire, at which the

    The Small House at Allington Anthony Trollope 1848

  • He therefore fell into an opposite extreme; and, as it happens in such cases, and in order to recall the imprudent words which had escaped him, he pronounced others which were more imprudent still.

    The Forty-Five Guardsmen Alexandre Dumas p��re 1836

  • The letter - sent to the House of Representatives chairpersons, Bank Indonesia executives, the Finance Ministry and the media - points to several instances of so-called imprudent handling, the first being the government's legal basis for the bailout.

    The Jakarta Post Breaking News 2009

  • And those who believe in socialism think penalising the prudent to support the imprudent is a jolly good thing.

    Army Rumour Service 2009

Comments

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  • impRUDEnt

    May 17, 2008

  • Surely one can be imprudent without being rude. Perhaps you are thinking of impudent?

    May 18, 2008

  • Manas is imprudent in boot-licking his superiors with the hope that they shall see him as a potential leader.

    February 15, 2013

  • Recently licked :-)

    February 15, 2013