Cautious Adjective - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation And Usage ...

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Definition of cautious adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

cautious adjective   /ˈkɔːʃəs/  /ˈkɔːʃəs/ jump to other results

1. being careful about what you say or do, especially to avoid danger or mistakes; not taking any risks
   • The government has been cautious in its response to the report.
   • They've taken a very cautious approach.
   • They expressed cautious optimism about a solution to the crisis.
   • cautious about somebody/something | cautious about doing something He was very cautious about committing himself to anything.
   Which Word? cautious / carefulcautious / careful
   • A cautious person is worried that something may be dangerous or unwise, so they only do it very slowly or after a lot of thought. (opposite = rash)
   • A careful person is not worried but does take extra care to make sure that everything is correct or nothing goes wrong. (opposite = careless)
   • Notice also:
   • Be careful/Take care when you drive on icy roads.
   • Caution/Warning—thin ice.
   Extra Examples
   • She accused the government of being unduly cautious.
   • He warned us to be cautious of accepting their statements as fact.
   • Her experiences have made her cautious.
   • What's made you so suddenly cautious?
   • cautious about spending money
   Topics Personal qualitiesc1Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
   • be
   • become
   • get
   • …
   adverb
   • extremely
   • fairly
   • very
   • …
   preposition
   • about
   • of
   See full entryWord Originmid 17th cent.: from caution, on the pattern of pairs such as ambition, ambitious.

See cautious in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee cautious in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishCheck pronunciation: cautious

Nearby words

• caution verb
• cautionary adjective
• cautious adjective
• cautiously adverb
• cautiousness noun

newspaper noun From the Word list Oxford 3000 A1 Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day