carefully
Americanadverb
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in a cautious way, with attention to possible risks and dangers.
Although somewhat "folksy" in his interview, the congressman carefully avoided pitfalls where he would be vulnerable to attack.
-
in a thorough, attentive, or painstaking way, giving thought to avoiding errors or omissions.
I have to carefully examine the copy editor's marked-up manuscript, double-checking everything and approving or vetoing changes.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carefully
First recorded before 1000; careful ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
Carefully means cautiously or painstakingly. If you carefully study your vocabulary words, you'll ace your next quiz! This adverb comes from the Old English carfullice — but before coming to mean "in a way that avoids harm," it meant "sorrowfully." In fact, the very oldest meaning of care was "to be anxious or to grieve." These days, you don't cry when you do something carefully. You just take your time and make sure you're doing it right and that no one's being harmed by it, like when you check carefully behind your car for the neighbor's cat before you back out of the driveway.
Vocabulary lists containing carefully
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their experience with avinnaarjuk, an Inuit term for roaming bears without fear of humans, is the movie’s other carefully considered viewpoint, since the Inuit, too, have suffered under a system of control.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
In its listing description, the dwelling, which sits on 0.9 acres, was described as being located on “one of the most coveted” lanes in its community, offering “8,000 square feet of carefully designed perfection.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Instead, they emphasize carefully evaluating individual patients and using the approach only when the circumstances justify it.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
For his part, Talarico carefully embraced Musk as a foil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Clare ducked forward, threading his way through the lanterns, stepping carefully over the whirlpools—which he inexplicably felt he should avoid.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
