cautiously

cau·tious·ly
C3A1U1T1I1O1U1S1L1Y4
US, UK/ˈkɔːʃəsli/cot caught merger/ˈkɑʃəsli/

adverb

In a cautious manner.

Similar
gingerlycannilycarefullycharilycharyconservativelydiscreetlyprudently
Opposite
incautiously
OriginProto-Germanic *līką ← Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ← English cautious →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

adverbcautiously (comparative more cautiously, superlative most cautiously)

comparative more cautiously · superlative most cautiously

  1. In a cautious manner.

    He said cautiously, "I do not think it right, Imperator."

    1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 147

    Synonyms: gingerly, cannily, carefully, charily, chary, conservatively, discreetly, prudently

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn a cautious manner.

Similar
gingerlycannilycarefullycharilycharyconservativelydiscreetlyprudentlysafelytentativelywarily
Opposite
incautiously

More synonyms by meaning

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

Similar
carefullywith kid gloves
Opposite
incautiously

adverbin a conservative manner

Similar
conservativelyguardedly
Also see
carefullyconservativelydiscreetlyguardedlywarily

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishcautious
  2. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  3. Proto-Germanic*līką
  4. Englishcautiously

From cautious + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan cautelosament
  • cautelosamentin a cautious manner
Czech opatrně
  • opatrněin a cautious manner
Dutch behoedzaam, omzichtig
  • behoedzaamin a cautious manner
  • omzichtigin a cautious manner
Esperanto singarde
  • singardein a cautious manner
Finnish varovasti
  • varovastiin a cautious manner
French précautionneusement
  • précautionneusementin a cautious manner
German vorsichtig
  • vorsichtigin a cautious manner
Hungarian óvatosan
  • óvatosanin a cautious manner
Italian cautamente, prudentemente
  • cautamentein a cautious manner
  • prudentementein a cautious manner
Latin cautim, tectē
  • cautimin a cautious manner
  • tectēin a cautious manner
  • pedetemptimin a cautious manner
Polish ostrożnie
  • ostrożniein a cautious manner
Portuguese cuidadosamente
  • cuidadosamentein a cautious manner
Romanian prudent, cu prudență
  • prudentin a cautious manner
  • cu prudențăin a cautious manner
  • prevăzătorin a cautious manner
  • cu prevederein a cautious manner
  • precautin a cautious manner
  • cu precauțiein a cautious manner
Russian осторо́жно, аккура́тно
  • осторо́жно (ostoróžno)in a cautious manner
  • аккура́тно (akkurátno)in a cautious manner
Spanish precavidamente
  • precavidamentein a cautious manner
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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