unwisely

U1N1W4I1S1E1L1Y4

adverb

In an unwise manner; foolishly.

Similar
foolishly
OriginMiddle English vnwysely ← Old English unwīslīċe →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

adverbunwisely (comparative more unwisely, superlative most unwisely)

comparative more unwisely · superlative most unwisely

  1. In an unwise manner; foolishly.

    The scope of the new upgrade isn't just restricted to the station and junction. It has involved more than simply putting back what was unwisely taken away.

    2024 May 1, Tom Ingall, “Hope springs eternal for better services”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 52

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbwithout good sense or judgment

Similar
foolishly
Also see
foolishlyill-advisedlyunadvisedly

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishunwīslīċe“unwisely, foolish”
  2. Middle Englishvnwysely
  3. Englishunwisely

From Middle English vnwysely, vnwisely, vnwyseliche, from Old English unwīslīċe (“unwisely, foolish”), equivalent to un- + wisely.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неразумно
  • неразумно (nerazumno)in an unwise manner
Catalan nèciament
  • nèciamentin an unwise manner
Dutch onverstandig
  • onverstandigin an unwise manner
Esperanto malsaĝe
  • malsaĝein an unwise manner
French imprudemment
  • imprudemmentin an unwise manner
Icelandic óskynsamlega
  • óskynsamlegain an unwise manner
Portuguese insensatamente
  • insensatamentein an unwise manner
Cite this entry
APA

unwisely. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unwisely

MLA

“unwisely.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unwisely. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unwisely,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unwisely.

Source: unwisely on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.