wise
Pluralwises
- 1Showing good judgment or the benefit of experience in one's decisions and actions.
A wise leader listens carefully before making any decision.
She gave a wise reply that calmed everyone in the room.
UsageIt is wise to + verb: it was wise to leave early.
Similarsensible, prudent, sage, judicious, shrewd
Oppositeimprovident
- 2Aware of or informed about something, especially something that was meant to stay concealed.
By his third fake sick day, his manager was wise to the excuses and asked for a doctor's note.
Customers quickly grew wise to the hidden fees on their bills.
UsageWise to something: she's wise to your tricks; get wise to means become aware of what's really happening.
- 3To inform someone of the truth, or to come to learn it, usually in the form "wise up".
It's time to wise up about the risks of this deal.
She wised up to the scam before losing any money.
UsageUsually wise up (often with to or about) or wise someone up: he finally wised up; she wised him up.
Note
Slang that works in both directions: you can wise someone up, or you can simply wise up, with no change to the verb. In "a coworker wised her up about the overtime rules" the coworker does the informing. In "after that warning, she wised up" the person informed becomes the subject. The verb grows from the "aware" adjective, so wising up means becoming wise to something.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The slang verb wise up derives from the adjective wise meaning aware or informed. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 4Showing disrespect, typically through cheeky or sarcastic remarks.
The boy got wise with the officer and earned a stern warning.
After the second wrong order, Jen got wise with the waiter and asked whether the kitchen needed a map.
UsageMostly get wise with someone, often as a warning: don't get wise with me. Get wise to means catch on.
Similarsmart, cheeky, sassy, fresh, insolent
Oppositerespectful, polite, courteous
Note
Irony did the work here. Calling someone wise when they are being too clever by half turned praise into a rebuke.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The disrespectful sense is an ironic or sarcastic use of wise. en.wiktionary.org
- 5To grow in good judgment over time; to come to have sound understanding.
Similarmature
- 6A way, manner, or method in which something is done or happens.
In such wise that all the beasts, great and small, came to the court save Reynard the Fox.
1481, William Caxton, The History of Reynard the Fox^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Historye_of_Reynard_the_Foxe/capitulo_.primo._(2))A riven hood was pulled across his eyes; The token of him being upon this wise Made for a sign of Lust.
1866, Algernon Swinburne, A Ballad of LifeNote
A separate word from the adjective, and a doublet of guise: both descend from the Germanic noun that also gave Italian and Spanish guisa. It lives in prepositional frames. Caxton writes in such wise in 1481, the King James Bible of 1611 has on this wise, Swinburne writes upon this wise in 1866, and Rossetti still uses in fresh wise in 1870. Its working descendant today is the suffix -wise.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 13 facts
- The noun meaning manner is a separate word from the adjective, inherited through Old English wīse. en.wiktionary.org
- Wise and guise are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
- Guise ultimately descends from the Germanic noun corresponding to wise. en.wiktionary.org
- Italian guisa comes from the corresponding Germanic word. en.wiktionary.org
- Spanish guisa ultimately comes from the corresponding Germanic noun. en.wiktionary.org
- Caxton's 1481 translation contains the phrase in such wise, allowing for modernized spelling. reynard.ipsissima-verba.org
- The Caxton work containing that example was published in 1481. catalog.etoncollege.com
- The 1611 King James Bible contains on this wise at Matthew 1:18. en.wikisource.org
- The Burden of Nineveh first appeared in 1856, but that printing lacks this wording. The quoted phrase occurs in the revised text published in Poems (1870). rossettiarchive.org
- The phrase in fresh wise is present in Rossetti's 1870 revised text. rossettiarchive.org
- Swinburne uses upon this wise in A Ballad of Life. en.wikisource.org
- The Swinburne example belongs to the collection published in 1866. en.wikisource.org
- The noun survives as the suffix -wise. en.wikipedia.org
- 7To teach, advise, or instruct someone.
- 8In dialect, to guide or steer someone or something along a course or in a direction.
- 9To cause something to turn or change its direction.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From Middle English wis, from Old English wīs ("wise"), from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from a Proto-Indo-European noun meaning "knowledge" built on the root *weyd-. It is cognate with Dutch wijs, German weise, Norwegian vis and Swedish vis, and is related to "wit."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- English wise descends through Middle English wis from Old English wīs. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English wīs meant wise. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English wīs descends from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz. en.wiktionary.org
- The current reconstruction derives *wīsaz from PIE *weyd-s-ós, an adjective derived from the s-stem noun *wéydos, ultimately from *weyd-. en.wiktionary.org
- Wise is cognate with Dutch wijs, German weise, Norwegian vis and Swedish vis. en.wiktionary.org
- Wise is etymologically related to wit. en.wiktionary.org
The noun goes back to Proto-Germanic *wīsō, which became Old English wīse and then Middle English wise. English "guise" is a doublet, and the word has relatives in Dutch wijze, German Weise, and both Italian and Spanish guisa.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The noun descends from Proto-Germanic *wīsō through Old English wīse and Middle English wise. en.wiktionary.org
- English guise is a doublet of the noun wise. en.wiktionary.org
- The noun is related to Dutch wijze, German Weise, Italian guisa and Spanish guisa. en.wiktionary.org