Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wise

/waɪz/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English

Syllables
wise
IPA
/waɪz/
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Disrespectful.

Colloquial

adj

Aware, informed (to something).

Colloquial

verb

To become wise.

verb

Usually with "up", to inform or learn.

Slang

noun

Way, manner, or method.

Archaic

verb

To instruct.

verb

To advise; induce.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *wéydos Proto-Indo-European *weyd-s-ós Proto-Germanic *wīsaz Old English wīs Middle English wys, wyse English wise From Middle English wys, wyse, from Old English wīs (“wise”), from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz (“knowledgeable, wise”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéydos (“seeing; knowledge”), from *weyd- (“to see”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian wiis (“wise”), Dutch wijs (“wise”), German weis, weise (“wise”), Low German wies (“wise; clever”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vis (“wise”), Icelandic vís (“wise; certain”), Gothic *𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 (*weis, “wise”); also Irish fios (“knowledge; information”), Manx fys (“knowledge; information”), Scottish Gaelic fhios, fios (“knowledge; information”), Welsh gwys, gwŷs (“citation, summons”), Latin videō (“to look, perceive, see; to note, observe; to comprehend, understand”), Greek είδος (eídos, “form, kind, type”), Albanian vizë (“line, stripe, track; dash”), Latvian veids (“form, kind, mode, type”), Lithuanian veidas (“face; appearance, aspect, look”), Belarusian ве́даць (vjédacʹ, “to know”), Bulgarian вям (vjam, “to know”), Czech vědět (“to know”), Polish wiedzieć (“to know”), Russian ве́дать (védatʹ, “to know”), Serbo-Croatian vedeti, viedieti (“to know”), Slovak vedieť (“to know”), Slovene vedeti (“to know”), Ukrainian ві́дати (vídaty, “to know”), Armenian գիտեմ (gitem, “I know”), գիտենալ (gitenal), գիտնալ (gitnal, “to know”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬛 (vaēd, “find”), 𐬬𐬌𐬛 (vid, “to know”), Persian نوید (navid / nawīd, nuwēd, “invitation; annunciation; good news”), Tocharian A ime (“awareness, consciousness, memory, thought”), Tocharian B īme (“awareness, consciousness, memory, thought”), ūwe (“educated, learned, knowledgeable”), Sanskrit वेदस् (vedas, “knowledge, science; property, wealth”). Compare wit.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *weyd-, wys, wīs, *wīsaz, *wéydos, wise

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce wise?
The recorded pronunciation is /waɪz/.
What does wise mean?
Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.
Where does wise come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wise

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wise”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/waɪz/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wise”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wise” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.