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.

With “Where the Music Had to Go,” Windolf carefully traces the contours of a revolution that transformed popular music into art.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

Waller emphasized he did not expect a worst-case scenario to come to pass, but said the Fed has to tread carefully.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

"This is not to say that PIF or Saudi Arabia is pulling out of sports investment but that the authorities are having to prioritise the allocation of resources more carefully," added Dr Ulrichsen.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

“The board of Intertek carefully reviewed EQT’s proposal with its advisers and unanimously concluded that it fundamentally undervalues Intertek and its future prospects,” the company said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Now I read through them again, more carefully.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023