carefully

American

[kair-fuh-lee] / ˈkɛər fə li /

adverb

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

quasi-carefully adverb
ultracarefully adverb

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing carefully

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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.

Is artificial intelligence so powerful that it needs to be carefully guarded?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

Or perhaps he was subconsciously looking for a way to blow up his own carefully constructed life.

From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026

This trade-off is valuable when telescope time is limited and follow-up observations must be carefully chosen.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Economists will be studying Tuesday’s numbers carefully in order to refine their estimates for what the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge will show in its March reading.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 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