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.
While unedited video feeds of those scenes circulated internationally, prime-time broadcasts within China relied on carefully edited montages, highlighting the wave at the cabin door, formal tarmac greetings and archival handshakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“And it looks like it’s going to work well elsewhere. But we’ve got to look very carefully because every reservoir is different.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
"But CAI's are very complex and are not all the same, even within a 1-millimeter piece of the meteorite. So we have to carefully identify what types they are."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
The NPO also said the Dutch entrant would be chosen by "an independent team of experts" who would "carefully guide the process surrounding the act".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
She hates it when her carefully made plans go awry.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
