carefully
Americanadverb
-
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.
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.
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
He chose his next words carefully, perhaps leaving out the word "giant" as a nod to the first words spoken on the lunar surface.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
Yet where that film’s sinuous sculpting of time is marvelously sly and organic, “Blue Heron” always feels a little too carefully mapped out to achieve a similarly breathtaking effect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
We pulled our chairs out from the table so carefully.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
