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.
In the operations room -- equipped with a giant data screen -- staff carefully track drone deliveries, while other employees use electric scooters to get around faster.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
"This next phase focuses not on promises, but on carefully determining whether modulating this pathway is safe, feasible, and ultimately meaningful for human disease."
From Science Daily • May 26, 2026
Minutes later, thanks to a carefully choreographed stocking and delivery process on the back end, the diapers were at her doorstep, to the New Delhi mom’s relief.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
When dealing with a major life event, such as the passing of a loved one and inheritance, it is best to lay your assumptions aside and make decisions carefully.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
I looked carefully between rocks and in the nooks of trees.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
