unwisdom

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English unwisdom, from Old English unwīsdōm, corresponding to un- +‎ wisdom.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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unwisdom (countable and uncountable, plural unwisdoms)

  1. 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, volumes (please specify |volume=I to XII), London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC:
      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, published 2011, page 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

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References

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English unwīsdōm; equivalent to un- +‎ wisdom.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /unˈwizdoːm/, /unˈwiːzdoːm/, /-am/

Noun

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unwisdom (uncountable)

  1. idiocy, stupidity
  2. (rare) mistake, blunder

Descendants

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  • English: unwisdom

References

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