To become aware of the true facts of a situation and stop being naive or foolish.
Stop being silly or clueless and start understanding what is really going on.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To stop being naive or foolish and begin to understand the real situation.
"You need to wise up — nobody is going to give you a promotion just for showing up on time."
"It's time for America to wise up."
— Commonly attributed to political commentary; widely used in US editorial writing, e.g. New York Post headlines, 2000s–2010s.
To make someone else aware of the true facts of a situation; to inform or alert someone.
"Her older sister wised her up about how competitive the job market really was."
To become more 'wise' in an upward direction — the 'up' suggests moving to a higher level of understanding.
Stop being silly or clueless and start understanding what is really going on.
Often used as an imperative ('Wise up!') to tell someone they are being foolish. Can also take a reflexive sense ('You need to wise up'). Common in American and British informal speech. Sometimes implies mild irritation on the part of the speaker.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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