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.
“SB 1392 establishes a carefully limited exemption for cars that are preserved, driven sparingly, and maintained as part of California’s automotive heritage.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
“Left unchecked, it could outrun our ability to understand and control these systems, and so must be pursued very carefully, if at all,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
The setup, Anthropic has said, “can ensure that the organizational leadership is incentivized to carefully evaluate future models for catastrophic risks … rather than prioritizing being the first to market above all other objectives.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
"Left unchecked, it could outrun our ability to understand and control these systems, and so must be pursued very carefully, if at all," Amodei wrote.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
“I thought it was important to have this meeting,” Mr. Reardon said in a smooth, silky voice, looking carefully at Mom, then Dad, then Jonah and Katherine, each in turn.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
