Definitions Related words Mentions History

Literary notes about Improvident (AI summary)

The term "improvident" in literature is frequently used to highlight characters' shortsightedness or lack of foresight, often leading to their eventual downfall or difficulties. For instance, in a Filipino tale, Uncle Curro’s pleasure-seeking nature and improvidence leave his family in dire straits [1], while in Hardy’s work, a simple lapse in managing resources—eating all the seed potatoes—is labeled as an act of improvidence with lasting consequences [2]. In some narratives, such as in Twain's and Warner's depiction of Laura, the trait is woven into a complex tapestry of characteristics, suggesting that even those admired for various qualities may struggle with a lack of careful planning [3]. Moreover, improvidence is often cast as a moral failing or a vice that brings about personal and communal degradation, as seen in Stowe’s portrayal of a class of people whose lack of foresight is detrimental both to themselves and others [4]. Whether describing the naive honesty of a character in Du Bois’ narrative [5] or the impulsive, ephemeral nature of a protagonist in Wharton’s work [6], the word underscores a universal vulnerability to shortsighted behavior, resonating across diverse literary contexts [7, 8].
  1. Uncle Curro is pleasure-loving and improvident, and soon finds himself and his family in the direst need.
    — from Filipino Popular Tales
  2. She found, to her dismay, that this was owing to their having eaten all the seed potatoes,—that last lapse of the improvident.
    — from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy
  3. Willful, generous, forgiving, imperious, affectionate, improvident, bewitching, in short—was Laura at this period.
    — from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner
  4. It takes no spectacles to see that a great class of vicious, improvident, degraded people, among us, are an evil to us, as well as to themselves.
    — from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
  5. An old ragged black man, honest, simple, and improvident, told us the tale.
    — from The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
  6. But I'm improvident: I live in the moment when I'm happy.
    — from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
  7. “Such are the results of improvident management!” thought Platon to himself.
    — from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
  8. Many a man, she should remember, may abound in excellent qualities, and yet be improvident.
    — from The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness by Cecil B. Hartley

More usage examples

Also see: Google, News, Images, Wikipedia, Reddit, Scrabble


Home   Reverse Dictionary / Thesaurus   Datamuse   Word games   Spruce   Feedback   Dark mode   Random word   Help


Color thesaurus

Use OneLook to find colors for words and words for colors

See an example

Literary notes

Use OneLook to learn how words are used by great writers

See an example

Word games

Try our innovative vocabulary games

Play Now

Read the latest OneLook newsletter issue: Compound Your Joy