1
as in economical
careful in the management of money or resources
it is possible to be provident without being miserly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cautious
having or showing awareness of and preparation for the future
her provident measures kept us safe while we waited out the hurricane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of provident
The ordinance also recognizes domestic workers as formal workers and extends protections to employees of non-profit organizations, including eligibility for provident fund and pension schemes.
—
Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 21 Nov. 2025
My brother-in-law was not what one calls a provident father.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2024
For example, many cities have begun allowing parents to help their children buy an apartment using their housing provident funds, a kind of compulsory saving program in China.
—Jacky Wong, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022
Its pilots are angry over not having received the company’s contribution towards their provident fund since 2020, even as pay cuts continue.
—Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 13 July 2022
Social Security would likely be replaced also with a provident-fund system, basically a private retirement account with mandatory contributions, with backup provisions if this proves to be insufficient in old age.
—Nathan Lewis, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2021
That led to another announcement this spring, which prevented people from using BN(O) passports for the early withdrawal of mandatory provident funds (MPFs).
—Michelle Toh and Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, 26 Aug. 2021
The deficits, however, demand a more provident approach to the ballooning defense budget (now larger than everything else in the federal discretionary budget combined).
—Jessica T. Mathews, The New York Review of Books, 20 Aug. 2020
The combined employer-and-employee contribution rates into the city’s central provident fund – the main pension plan – currently drop from 37% at 55 years of age to as low as 12.5% for older workers.
—Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2019
Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 21 Nov. 2025
My brother-in-law was not what one calls a provident father.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2024
For example, many cities have begun allowing parents to help their children buy an apartment using their housing provident funds, a kind of compulsory saving program in China.
—Jacky Wong, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022
Its pilots are angry over not having received the company’s contribution towards their provident fund since 2020, even as pay cuts continue.
—Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 13 July 2022
Social Security would likely be replaced also with a provident-fund system, basically a private retirement account with mandatory contributions, with backup provisions if this proves to be insufficient in old age.
—Nathan Lewis, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2021
That led to another announcement this spring, which prevented people from using BN(O) passports for the early withdrawal of mandatory provident funds (MPFs).
—Michelle Toh and Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, 26 Aug. 2021
The deficits, however, demand a more provident approach to the ballooning defense budget (now larger than everything else in the federal discretionary budget combined).
—Jessica T. Mathews, The New York Review of Books, 20 Aug. 2020
The combined employer-and-employee contribution rates into the city’s central provident fund – the main pension plan – currently drop from 37% at 55 years of age to as low as 12.5% for older workers.
—Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provident
Adjective
-
Experts note that keeping human employees might be more economical, with examples like NVIDIA's VP Bryan Catanzaro and Uber's CTO reporting AI costs surpassing human labor expenses.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
Similarly economical and granularly detailed is a 20-minute sequence in the middle of the film that’s gruesome, comical and crucial to the propulsion of the story.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
Long periods of high gas prices (of which the tax is a small piece) do seem to produce higher transit ridership, a shift to more fuel-efficient or electric vehicles, and more cautious choices about living far from work and amenities.—
Henry Grabar,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2026
-
The more a decision requires navigating ambiguity rather than optimizing a clear objective, the more cautious organizations should be in delegating it to AI, and the more AI needs to be augmented by human experience, judgment, and deep expertise.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Despite criticism that zero income taxes only benefit high-earners, the Sunshine State’s booming economy and positive migration trends are evidence that such policies merit careful consideration by policymakers nationwide.—
Nicole Huyer,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 May 2026
-
But a careful reading of the S-1 reveals substantial barriers in the path to achieving the sorcerous performance required to reward shareholders who flock to the most anticipated debut ever seen.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
For more time-saving, clever kitchen tools at Amazon, keep reading.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
5 May 2026
-
The former are made using a resource-saving, closed-loop process.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
That would seem to be the prudent path, and Brown figures the experience already has been invaluable.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 May 2026
-
Allowing Brown to oversee the deadline as either a buyer or a team standing pat seems prudent.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Adjective
-
Marlowe says this is a proactive move so that hopefully, more extreme measures, like water budget reduction and drought pricing, won't have to be taken later this summer.—
Olivia Young,
CBS News,
23 May 2026
-
These choices, Brewster says, are rooted in a desire to be proactive rather than reactive about health, shaped in part by concerns about chronic and lifestyle-related disease in the United States.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
Aging will go much further toward happiness and satisfaction if the more farsighted among them will begin to organize societies for self-help and self-direction, rather than for the promotion of economic experiments of unknown dimensions and unforeseeable consequences.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
21 Apr. 2026
-
These word assemblages could then be linked to one another or branch off in entirely new directions—a farsighted idea for the time.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Hacks feels very prescient now in its treatment of late night.—
Joy Press,
Vanity Fair,
29 May 2026
-
The statement was prescient, because Colombia never did recover.—
Roberto Andrés,
The Dial,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Provident.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provident. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
