prudent

adj

1. Sagacious in adapting means to ends; circumspect in action, or in determining any line of conduct.

   “It is prudent to consult a physician before beginning any new exercise regimen.”

   “Moſes,[…]eſtabliſht a grave and prudent Law,[…].”

   “He did not hesitate what to do. It would be prudent to continue on to Omaha, for it would be dangerous to return to the train, which the Indians might still be engaged in pillaging.”

2. Practically wise, judicious, shrewd.

   “His prudent career moves reliably brought him to the top.”

   “A prudent man foreſeeth the euill, and hideth himſelfe: but the ſimple paſſe on, and are puniſhed.”

   “The history of cast iron in railway bridges is much more grimly chequered. Brunel's misgivings were proved prudent, tragically, in the 1879 failure of Thomas Bouch's Tay bridge (once a monument to cast iron, now a memorial to many lives lost).”

3. Frugal; economical; not extravagant.

   “Only prudent expenditure may provide quality within a restrictive budget.”