I. wise 1 S3 /waɪz/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: wis ]
1 . DECISION/IDEA ETC wise decisions and actions are sensible and based on good judgment SYN sensible
it is wise to do something
It’s wise to check whether the flight times have changed before you leave for the airport.
be wise to do something
I think you were wise to leave when you did.
a wise precaution
I don’t think that would be a very wise move (=not be a sensible thing to do) .
2 . PERSON someone who is wise makes good decisions, gives good advice etc, especially because they have a lot of experience of life:
a wise old man
At the time I thought he was wonderful, but I’m older and wiser now.
As a manager, Sanford was wise in the ways of (=knew a lot about) company politics.
3 . be none the wiser/not be any the wiser
a) to not understand something even after it has been explained to you:
Charlie explained how the system works, but I’m still none the wiser.
b) used for saying that no one will find out about something bad that someone has done:
He could easily have taken the money and no one would have been any the wiser.
4 . get/be wise to somebody/something informal to realize that someone is being dishonest:
Teachers quickly get wise to students who are cheating.
⇨ wise up at ↑ wise 2
5 . wise guy especially informal American English an annoying person who thinks they know more than they really do:
OK, wise guy, shut up and listen!
6 . be wise after the event to realize what you should have done in a situation after it has happened:
It’s easy to be wise after the event.
—wisely adverb :
Invest the money wisely.
He nodded wisely.
⇨ ↑ wisdom , ⇨ sadder but wiser at ↑ sad (6)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ intelligent having a high level of mental ability, and good at thinking clearly and understanding ideas:
The top universities aim to select the most intelligent students.
▪ clever especially British English , smart especially American English intelligent, so that you can think and learn quickly and find ways to solve problems:
That was very clever of you. How did you do that?
|
I wasn’t smart enough to be a lawyer.
▪ bright intelligent – used especially about children and young people:
He’s a very bright kid.
|
the brightest student in the class
▪ brilliant extremely intelligent and good at the work you do:
a brilliant scientist
▪ gifted a gifted child is much more intelligent than most other children:
a special school for gifted children
▪ wise able to make good decisions and give sensible advice, especially because you have a lot of experience:
a wise old man
▪ cunning/crafty good at using your intelligence to get what you want, often by making secret plans or tricking people:
She was cunning enough to keep this latest piece of information secret.
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He’s a crafty old devil!
▪ brainy informal intelligent and good at studying:
My sister is the brainy one in our family.
II. wise 2 BrE AmE verb
wise up phrasal verb informal
to realize the truth about a bad situation:
Wise up, Vic – he’s cheating you!
wise up to
Consumers need to wise up to the effect that advertising has on them.
III. wise 3 BrE AmE , -wise /waɪz/ suffix
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: -wisan , from wise 'way, method' ]
1 . price-wise/time-wise etc informal used for saying which feature of a situation you are referring to:
Time-wise we’re not doing too badly.
2 . crosswise/lengthwise etc in a direction across something, along the length of something etc:
Cut the carrots lengthwise.
⇨ ↑ clockwise , ↑ streetwise