Good sense comes in flavors. Some people are wise in the deep, slow way of long experience; some are quick and sharp; some are careful planners. And some, alas, are easy to fool or slow to catch on. This topic gives you a word for each.
Key idea
Deep wisdom: sagacious, sage (a wise person). Sharp and practical: astute, shrewd, canny. Careful and sensible: judicious, prudent. Foolish: gullible (easily tricked), fatuous (smugly silly), obtuse (slow to understand).
Shrewd and canny can carry a hint of cleverness for one’s own benefit; judicious and prudent never do. They simply mean using good judgment.
The ten words
Common mistake
judicious means wise in judgment, not "quick to judge others." obtuse (slow to understand) also names an angle over 90 degrees.
| word | kind of good sense | example |
|---|---|---|
| sagacious / sage | deep wisdom from experience | an old captain reading the clouds |
| astute | quick to spot what matters | noticing the hidden clue |
| shrewd / canny | sharp in practical, money matters | selling at the top of the hill |
| judicious | good judgment in choosing | a well-chosen word |
| prudent | careful about the future | saving for winter |
judicious means showing good judgment. It does not mean judging other people, and a judicious person is usually slow to criticize. obtuse also names an angle wider than 90 degrees: blunt, not sharp, which is a handy picture for a mind that is slow to catch on.