heedful
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heedful
Explanation
Being heedful means paying careful attention to something (or someone). You'll want to be especially heedful of your best friend's feelings if he's having a bad week. If you're heedful, you're mindful or attentive. You should be heedful of drinking plenty of water when you work outside on a hot summer day, and heedful of the crumbling stone steps if you're exploring the ruins of an old building. It's also important to be heedful of the way other people feel. This adjective comes from heed, "careful attention," and its Old English root hedan, "observe or protect."
Vocabulary lists containing heedful
The Odyssey
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
All's Well That Ends Well
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Comedy of Errors
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Kai, appearing both accustomed to the attention and heedful of it, tended to end each exchange with a playful laugh and the same message: “Have fun, OK?”
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2021
McMillan initially promised to train fissile material handlers to be more heedful of plutonium-handling perils, for example, and to bring the inventory and safety documents guiding their work up to date.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 30, 2017
Her 16th birthday is the occasion for an Edwardian tennis match – lots of chaps swanning about in white flannels and boaters – through which she skitters barefoot, heedful only of her secret romance.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 16, 2012
And the military, despite its intermittently heavy-handed responses, is heedful of public sentiment to a degree unprecedented under the old regime.
From Time ● Jun. 2, 2011
A time will come when thou shalt no longer be master of the living soul of thy pupil, in which, with all thy heedful precaution, rude, uncontrolled elements are at work.
From Villa Eden: The Country-House on the Rhine by Berthold Auerbach
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
