carefully

care·ful·ly
C3A1R1E1F4U1L1L1Y4
UK/ˈkɛːf(ə)li/US/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/

adverb

Sorrowfully.

“He carefully avoided the subject all evening.”

Similar
cautiouslywith kid gloves
Opposite

Meanings

adverbcarefully (comparative more carefully, superlative most carefully)

comparative more carefully · superlative most carefully

  1. obsoleteSorrowfully.

    […] there was she faine / To call them all in order to her ayde, / And them conjure, upon eternall paine, / To counsell her, so carefully dismayd, / How she might heale her sonne […]

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
  2. With care; attentively, circumspectly.

    He carefully avoided the subject all evening.

    4 more examples

    As he was a politician, he discussed all subjects carefully, not offending anyone.

    He carefully studied the papers, while planning his next move.

    Then his sallow face brightened, for the hall had been carefully furnished, and was very clean. ¶ There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.

    1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0091

    In practice, only about a third of people who microdose carefully measure the amount of the psychedelic they are taking; most take just enough to begin feeling some effects, which usually start after an hour and last four to six hours.

    2022 February 28, Dana G. Smith, “More People Are Microdosing for Mental Health. But Does It Work?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Mar 2022

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbas if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact

Similar
cautiouslywith kid gloves
Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishcarfullīċe
  2. Middle Englishcarfulli
  3. Englishcarefully

From Middle English carfulli, carefulliche, from Old English carfullīċe, ċearfullīċe (“carefully, diligently”), equivalent to careful + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἐπιμελῶς
  • ἐπιμελῶς (epimelôs)in a careful manner
Arabic بِعِنَايَة
  • بِعِنَايَة (bi-ʕināya)in a careful manner
Basque kontuz, arretaz
  • kontuzin a careful manner
  • arretazin a careful manner
Bulgarian грижливо, внимателно
  • грижливо (grižlivo)in a careful manner
  • внимателно (vnimatelno)in a careful manner
Catalan acuradament
  • acuradamentin a careful manner
Chinese Mandarin 小心地
  • 小心地 (xiǎoxīn de)in a careful manner
Czech opatrně
  • opatrněin a careful manner
Danish forsigtig
  • forsigtigin a careful manner
Dutch voorzichtig
  • voorzichtigin a careful manner
Esperanto zorgeme, zorge
  • zorgemein a careful manner
  • zorgein a careful manner
Finnish tarkasti, tarkoin
  • tarkastiin a careful manner
  • tarkoinin a careful manner
  • varovastiin a careful manner
  • varovaisestiin a careful manner
French soigneusement
  • soigneusementin a careful manner
German vorsichtig
  • vorsichtigin a careful manner
Greek επιμελώς
  • επιμελώς (epimelós)in a careful manner
Hungarian gondosan
  • gondosanin a careful manner
Irish go haireach
  • go haireachin a careful manner
Italian minuziosamente, accuratamente
  • minuziosamentein a careful manner
  • accuratamentein a careful manner
  • meticolosamentein a careful manner
  • puntigliosamentein a careful manner
  • attentamentein a careful manner
Japanese じっくり, 慎重に
  • じっくり (jikkuri)in a careful manner
  • 慎重に (shinchō ni)in a careful manner
Korean 주의하여, 조심스럽게
  • 주의하여 (juuihayeo)in a careful manner
  • 조심스럽게 (josimseureopge)in a careful manner
  • 신중히 (sinjunghi)in a careful manner
Latin curiose, caute
  • curiosein a careful manner
  • cautein a careful manner
Polish ostrożnie
  • ostrożniein a careful manner
Portuguese cuidadosamente, cautelosamente
  • cuidadosamentein a careful manner
  • cautelosamentein a careful manner
Romanian cu grijă
  • cu grijăin a careful manner
Russian осторо́жно, аккура́тно
  • осторо́жно (ostoróžno)in a careful manner
  • аккура́тно (akkurátno)in a careful manner
  • внима́тельно (vnimátelʹno)in a careful manner
Spanish cuidadosamente
  • cuidadosamentein a careful manner
Swahili taratibu
  • taratibuin a careful manner
Swedish försiktig
  • försiktigin a careful manner
Turkish dikkatlice, itinayla
  • dikkatlicein a careful manner
  • itinaylain a careful manner
  • özenlein a careful manner
  • titizliklein a careful manner
Ukrainian обере́жно
  • обере́жно (oberéžno)in a careful manner
Cite this entry
APA

carefully. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carefully

MLA

“carefully.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carefully. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carefully,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carefully.

Source: carefully on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.