providence1
/ˈprɒvɪd(ə)ns
/noun [mass noun]
1The protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power: they found their trust in divine providence to be a source of comfort...
- They thanked God for their preservation during their first year in Plymouth, where, as in Leiden's siege, half the community had died, leaving the survivors to hope for and depend on divine protection and providence.
- Perhaps this is because he believes so much in divine providence and God's redemption in Christ, and he refuses to believe that God is capricious.
- Man's worship ascends upward, and the Divine providence descends thereby.
Synonyms
fate, destiny, nemesis, kismet, God's will, divine intervention, predestination, predetermination;
astral influence, the stars;
fortune, fortuity, serendipity, chance, luck, accident, circumstances, coincidence;
one's lot (in life)
archaic one's portion
1.1 (Providence) God or nature as providing protective care: I live out my life as Providence decrees...
- Nothing but the superintending care of Providence could have saved him.
- It may be, however, that at a deeper level than the ecclesiastical and economic reasons, there is a question of God's Providence.
- His Ascended Glory is the comfort of wise Providence in every moment and time and dispenses trial.
2Timely preparation for future eventualities: it was considered a duty to encourage providence...
- The hunter with the fewest marks on their card (and there is sometimes more than one, which is where providence and chance play their hand) also comes up, whereupon I shoot them.
- The government of the fastest growing city in Asia believes providence, not planning will help it manage growth.
- In the past, we could leave that onerous responsibility to fate or providence, and then rail against them when it went wrong.
Synonyms
prudence, foresight, forethought, far-sightedness, judgement, judiciousness, shrewdness, circumspection, wisdom, sagacity, common sense, precaution, caution, care, carefulness;
good management, careful budgeting, thrift, thriftiness, economy;
North American forehandedness
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin providentia, from providere 'foresee, attend to' (see provide).
Rhymes
Providence2
/ˈprɒvɪd(ə)ns/The state capital of Rhode Island, a port on the Atlantic coast; population 171,557 (est. 2008). It was founded in 1636 as a haven for religious dissenters.
- poison tree
- poison vine
- poison-weed
- poisonwood
- poisony
- poissarde
- Poisson bracket
- Poisson-distributed
- Poisson distribution
- Poissonian
- Poisson law
- Poisson's equation
- Poisson, Siméon-Denis
- Poisson's law
- Poisson's ratio
- Poitevin
- Poitiers
- Poitier, Sidney
- Poitou
- Poitou-Charentes
- poitrail
- poitrel
- poitrinaire
- poivrade
- pokable