cautious

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɔːʃəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #8549

Meanings

1

adj
Careful to avoid danger, risk, or mistakes.

He took a few cautious steps toward the edge of the cliff.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · careful to avoid danger,... careful guarded wary

Opposites

aggressive bellicose careless daredevil dauntless incautious neglecting recklessuncautious

Word family

Forms cautiousness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cautious statement
a statement carefully qualified to avoid claiming too much

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From cauti(on) + -ous. Compare Latin cautus.

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# cautious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɔːʃəs/
**Frequency rank:** 8549

## Meanings
1. Careful to avoid danger, risk, or mistakes.

## Examples
- He took a few cautious steps toward the edge of the cliff.

## Antonyms
- aggressive
- bellicose
- careless
- daredevil
- dauntless
- incautious
- neglecting
- reckless
- uncautious

## Roots and Affixes
- Affix: -ious - full of

## Etymology
From cauti(on) + -ous. Compare Latin cautus.

## AI Etymology
Cautious is from cauti(on) plus -ous. Compare Latin cautus. The suffix -ous gives cauti(on) adjectival shape, so the word means characterized by or disposed toward the quality named in the base. In use as an adjective, cautious denotes careful to avoid danger, risk, or mistakes. Typical contexts include “He took a few cautious steps toward the edge of the cliff”. The meaning stays close to the form: it applies the etymological material to careful to avoid danger, risk, or mistakes, keeping the visible parts legible in ordinary use.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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