careful

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɛɹfəl/ UK /ˈkɛːfl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #654

Meanings

1

adj
Giving attention to what you do so you avoid danger, mistakes, or harm.

He was a slow and careful driver.
2

adj
Done with a lot of attention to detail; thorough.

They made a careful search of the crime scene.
3

adj
Sensible about how you spend money.

She is very careful with money and rarely wastes any.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · done with a lot of... heedful

3 adj · sensible about how you... thrifty

More deliberate

Opposites

careless

Word family

Derived forms carefully carefulnessnoncarefulovercarefulultracarefuluncareful

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Proverbs (3)

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Etymology

From Middle English careful, from Old English carful; equivalent to care + -ful.

*ǵeh₂r- Proto-Indo-European careful Middle English carful Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# careful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɛɹfəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɛːfl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 654

## Meanings
1. Giving attention to what you do so you avoid danger, mistakes, or harm.
2. Done with a lot of attention to detail; thorough.
3. Sensible about how you spend money.

## Examples
- He was a slow and careful driver.
- They made a careful search of the crime scene.
- She is very careful with money and rarely wastes any.

## Synonyms
- deliberate

## Antonyms
- careless

## Derived Forms
- carefully
- carefulness
- noncareful
- overcareful
- ultracareful
- uncareful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵeh₂r-
- Root: careful
- Root: carful
- Affix: -ful - full of

## Etymology
From Middle English careful, from Old English carful; equivalent to care + -ful.

## AI Etymology
careful is an adjective. It is from Middle English careful, from Old English carful; equivalent to care + -ful. Historical forms in the chain include *ǵeh₂r- (Proto-Indo-European), careful (Middle English), and carful (Old English). Current senses include giving attention to what you do so you avoid danger, mistakes, or harm, done with a lot of attention to detail; thorough, and sensible about how you spend money. Derived forms include carefully, carefulness, noncareful, overcareful, and ultracareful.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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