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.

Council leader Eleanor Wills said the development "has been thought through very carefully".

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

The greatest regulatory failure was that startups were not carefully screened before they began gold-digging, and oversight was minimal.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

The carefully crafted red carpet reception for the papal visit was in sharp contrast to criticism of detention conditions.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Scientists must design the models carefully and interpret the results.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

Now he aimed carefully and sent the ball whooshing through the net.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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