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Glite Dictionary
🦉 Showing good judgment 😏 Cheeky or rude 💡 To become aware 1️⃣ A way or manner
to wise

to wise

20 6.7
To learn the true facts about a situation
  • phrasal verb
  • /waɪz/
  • Informal
translation icon : enterarse (de)
  • After a few tough experiences, she finally wised up and learned how to manage her money better.

Examples

  • I'd hope that Chamber members would wise up and recognize that he is not good for their business.

    Blog text (25)

  • The Republicans better wise up and grow a spine, or remove themselves from their political office.

    Blog text (8)

  • When are you gonna wise up?

    Fear No Evil (1981)

  • You need to wise up and get a good crew chief and a good team.

    Cars (2006)

  • I wish the public at large would wise up, but I do not expect that.

    Blog text (15)

  • When are the people finally going to wise up and vote for real change for a change?

    Blog text (1)

  • If we're lucky, he'll wise up before the wedding.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We Americans need to wise up and vote all these people out.

    Blog text (25)

  • Shoot, maybe one of these days, you'll wise up and come work for us.

    The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

  • I knew you'd wise up, sunshine.

    Bound by Honor (1993)

Synonyms

to wise up
vsto wise
  • Informal
16 7.1

To learn the true facts after not knowing them

is the general term usually used as the phrasal verb form
to get wise
vsto wise
7 7.0

To understand someone tricked you and become more careful

focuses more on general awareness rather than on earlier deception

How Aware

to wise
  • Informal
20 6.7
to realize
  • US
∞ 1.1
to learn
∞ 1.0
to find out
∞ 2.1
to notice
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

wise infinitive
wised past
wised past participle
wising present participle
wises third person singular

Etymology

Wise as a verb, seen in wise up, comes from the idea of becoming 'knowing'. So to wise up is to become aware or to learn the truth.