cautiously

C2+ Topic:Safety & Risk

US /ˈkɔʃəsli/ UK /ˈkɔːʃəsli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a careful manner that avoids danger or risk

She crept cautiously along the icy ledge, testing each step before trusting it.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a careful manner that... carefully warily prudently circumspectly guardedly gingerly

Opposites

recklessly rashly carelessly heedlessly

Word family

Related forms caution cautious precaution

Etymology

From cautious (from Latin cautio, 'caution', from cavere, 'to be on guard') + -ly.

cautio Latin cavere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Safety & Risk Word Formation & Derivatives

# cautiously

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ˈkɔʃəsli
**IPA (UK):** ˈkɔːʃəsli

## Meanings
1. in a careful manner that avoids danger or risk

## Examples
- She crept cautiously along the icy ledge, testing each step before trusting it.

## Synonyms
- carefully
- warily
- prudently
- circumspectly
- guardedly
- gingerly

## Antonyms
- recklessly
- rashly
- carelessly
- heedlessly

## Related Forms
- caution
- cautious
- precaution

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cautio
- Root: cavere

## Etymology
From cautious (from Latin cautio, 'caution', from cavere, 'to be on guard') + -ly.

## AI Etymology
Cautiously comes from cautious (from Latin cautio, 'caution', from cavere, 'to be on guard') + -ly. The historical trail runs through cautio in Latin and cavere in Latin. Morphologically, cautiously is transparent: it draws on cautious (from Latin cautio, 'caution', from cavere, 'to be on guard') + -ly. Used as an adverb, cautiously now means "in a careful manner that avoids danger or risk", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as caution, cautious, and precaution. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Safety & Risk
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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cautiously

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