circumspect

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsɚkəmˌspɛkt/ UK /ˈsɜːkəmˌspɛkt/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
cautious and wary of consequences before acting

She was circumspect about revealing her plans too early.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · cautious and wary of... cautious prudent wary careful guarded vigilant discreet

Opposites

rash reckless heedless incautious

Word family

Forms circumspectly

Derived forms circumspectioncircumspectly

Related forms inspect respect spectacle prospect

Etymology

From Latin circumspectus, past participle of circumspicere ('to look around, take heed'), from circum ('around') + specere ('to look').

circum Latin specere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# circumspect

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈsɚkəmˌspɛkt
**IPA (UK):** ˈsɜːkəmˌspɛkt

## Meanings
1. cautious and wary of consequences before acting

## Examples
- She was circumspect about revealing her plans too early.

## Synonyms
- cautious
- prudent
- wary
- careful
- guarded
- vigilant
- discreet

## Antonyms
- rash
- reckless
- heedless
- incautious

## Derived Forms
- circumspection
- circumspectly

## Related Forms
- inspect
- respect
- spectacle
- prospect

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: circum
- Root: specere
- Affix: circum- - around

## Etymology
From Latin circumspectus, past participle of circumspicere ('to look around, take heed'), from circum ('around') + specere ('to look').

## AI Etymology
Circumspect comes from Latin circumspectus, past participle of circumspicere ('to look around, take heed'), from circum ('around') + specere ('to look'). The historical trail runs through Latin circum and Latin specere. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means cautious and wary of consequences before acting. Derived formations include circumspection, circumspectly; related forms include inspect, respect, spectacle, prospect.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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circumspect

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