cautelous C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈkɔtələs/ UK /ˈkɔːtɪləs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj cautious or wary, sometimes craftily so The cautelous merchant trusted no one with his accounts. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · cautious or wary, sometimes... cautiouswarycraftycunningwilycircumspect ↔ Opposites incautiousrecklessartless Word family Related forms cautioncautious Etymology AI details From Old French cauteleux ('crafty, wily'), from cautele ('cunning, precaution'), from Latin cautela ('caution'), from cavere ('to be on guard'). cautela Latin cavere Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # cautelous **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈkɔtələs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkɔːtɪləs/ ## Meanings 1. cautious or wary, sometimes craftily so ## Examples - The cautelous merchant trusted no one with his accounts. ## Synonyms - cautious - wary - crafty - cunning - wily - circumspect ## Antonyms - incautious - reckless - artless ## Related Forms - caution - cautious ## Roots and Affixes - Root: cautela - Root: cavere ## Etymology From Old French cauteleux ('crafty, wily'), from cautele ('cunning, precaution'), from Latin cautela ('caution'), from cavere ('to be on guard'). ## AI Etymology Cautelous is from Old French cauteleux ('crafty, wily'), from cautele ('cunning, precaution'), from Latin cautela ('caution'), from cavere ('to be on guard'). Important recorded forms include cautela (Latin) and cavere (Latin). The current sense covers cautious or wary, sometimes craftily so. The wider family includes related words such as caution and cautious. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown