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.
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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.
Students carefully remove soil with trowels while moving along paths between areas containing the remains of a 17th-century kitchen, a friar's residence, and the surrounding Potano village.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
At Fountain Grains & Greens, the owners’ dedication to using local, carefully sourced ingredients also make it difficult to meet the increased demand for protein.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
But systemic parties such as Yabloko were always cogs in a carefully calibrated machine that could at any point fall apart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
You should think carefully about your plan, however.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
The group had a nervous energy that seemed to hum around them, and I scrutinized each of the men carefully, looking to make sure that none of them was just a cleverly disguised Regan.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions 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.
