wiseling
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈwaɪz.lɪŋ/
- Offensive
- The town was swindled by a wiseling who pretended to have all the answers.
Examples
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The play's main character was a wiseling who misled the villagers with his false advice.
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People soon realized the so-called expert was just a wiseling with no real knowledge.
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In old stories, a wiseling often appears to offer foolish guidance to the hero.
-
That wiseling has no real experience in this field.
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I can't believe he's considered a wiseling by some people.
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She realized too late that the wiseling had no expertise and had given her poor advice.
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Everyone was advised to ignore the wiseling who spoke confidently but knew little.
Synonyms
35
7.7
A person who acts like they have all the answers and won't listen to others
34
8.6
A person who says they have special skills to trick people
4
7.0
A person who pretends to have skills or knowledge they do not have
1
9.6
A person who acts as if they know everything and annoys others
1
8.6
Pretending to know a lot without real understanding
1
9.9
A person who pretends to know a lot to impress others
1
9.9
A person who is not very clever and sometimes pretends to be smart
1
8.1
A person who annoys others by acting like they know everything and making sarcastic remarks
How Wise
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Wiseling is made from wise + the small-person ending -ling, like duckling or underling, where -ling can mean 'small' or 'person'. A helpful way to remember the modern, negative sense is to think of a 'small-wise' person who only looks wise, so a wiseling is someone who pretends to be wise but is not.