wise
part of speech
adjective (wise, wiser, wisest)
meaning for a pupil
1) Wise means having good sense and making good choices because of knowledge and experience. tree →
2) A wise decision or action is a sensible one. tree →
3) «Wise to» (informal) means knowing about a trick. tree →
4) A person who is wise about something knows a lot about it from experience, such as a horse-harness expert who is bridle-wise. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and fables, the wise old owl or the wise king gives good advice; wisdom is shown through good choices, not just knowing facts. In everyday life and safety, «it would be wise to wear a helmet» means it is the sensible choice. Phrases: «a wise choice», «wise words», «none the wiser» (still not knowing), «get wise to» (find out about a trick).
examples
- The wise old owl gave good advice. tree →
- It was wise to bring an umbrella. tree →
- Grandma is very wise. tree →
- Making a wise choice takes thinking. tree →
- It is not wise to swim alone. tree →
- The king asked his wisest friend for help. tree →
- Learn from wise people's mistakes. tree →
- He took the toy back and nobody was any the wiser. tree →
- The wise woman nodded her head. tree →
note
Comparison: wiser, wisest. The noun is «wisdom». A clever person knows a lot; a wise person uses it well — they are not the same. «Wise guy» is a rude word for someone who thinks they are clever.
In the corpora
- Headlines about AI can exaggerate in both directions, overhyping or overscaring, so it is wise to read beyond the headline.
- But you lived them in words: you learned what happened, what people felt and what was wise.
- The wise owl idea comes from ancient Greece, where the owl was the bird of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
- Stories call owls wise, unlucky or ill when they fly by day, but the real owl is simply a superb hunter.
- Now he praises his friends: «O wise old Badger! ...
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «wise» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.