cautelous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɔtələs/ UK /ˈkɔːtɪləs/ See IPA manual

adj

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... cautious wary crafty cunning wily circumspect

Opposites

incautious reckless artless

Word family

Related forms caution cautious

Etymology

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

# 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

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cautelous

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