caution

American  

[kaw-shuhn] / ˈkɔ ʃən /

noun

cautions plural

1. alertness and prudence in a hazardous situation; care; wariness.

   Landslides ahead—proceed with caution.

   Synonyms:

   vigilance, heed, watchfulness, discretion, circumspection

   Antonyms:

   carelessness

2. a warning against danger or evil; anything serving as a warning.

   By way of caution, he told me the difficulties I would face.

   Synonyms:

   counsel, advice, admonition

3. Informal. a person or thing that astonishes or causes mild apprehension.

   She's a caution. The way he challenges your remarks is a caution.

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verb (used with object)

cautions, present (3rd person singular) cautioned, past participle, past cautioning present participle

1. to give warning to; advise or urge to take heed.

   Synonyms:

   forewarn, admonish

verb (used without object)

cautions, present (3rd person singular) cautioned, past participle, past cautioning present participle

1. to warn or advise.

   The newspapers caution against overoptimism.

caution British  

/ ˈkɔːʃən /

noun

1. care, forethought, or prudence, esp in the face of danger; wariness

2. something intended or serving as a warning; admonition

3. law a formal warning given to a person suspected or accused of an offence that his words will be taken down and may be used in evidence

4. a notice entered on the register of title to land that prevents a proprietor from disposing of his or her land without a notice to the person who entered the caution

5. informal an amusing or surprising person or thing

   she's a real caution

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verb

1. (tr) to urge or warn (a person) to be careful

2. (tr) law to give a caution to (a person)

3. (intr) to warn, urge, or advise

   he cautioned against optimism

caution Idioms  

1. see throw caution to the winds.

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Synonym Usage

See warn.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cautioner
  noun
• overcaution
  noun
• supercaution
  noun
• recaution
  verb (used with object)
• uncautioned
  adjective
• well-cautioned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cautions
  plural

Participles

• cautioning
  present
• cautioned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• caution
  simple
• cautions
  simple
• have cautioned
  perfect
• has cautioned
  perfect
• am cautioning
  progressive
• are cautioning
  progressive
• is cautioning
  progressive
• have been cautioning
  perfect progressive
• has been cautioning
  perfect progressive

Past

• cautioned
  simple
• had cautioned
  perfect
• was cautioning
  progressive
• were cautioning
  progressive
• had been cautioning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will caution
  simple
• will have cautioned
  perfect
• will be cautioning
  progressive
• will have been cautioning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of caution

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English caucion, from Latin cautiōn-, stem of cautiō “a taking care,” from caut(us) “taken care” (past participle of cavēre “to take care”) + -iō -ion; cf. caveat

Explanation

If you act with caution, it means you are careful. Be sure to use caution when walking across a patch of ice. Otherwise, you might end up sprawling face-first on the ground. Ouch! The noun caution can be used to describe something that calls for careful action and the need to avoid risk, such as a volatile political situation that requires extreme caution. The word also has a verb form with a similar meaning. It’s a more formal way of saying “warn” and usually appears with against or that, as in, "Teachers caution against waiting until the last minute to study," or, "They caution that effective studying takes a long time."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caution cautions cautioned cautioning

Still, the researchers caution that the experiment measured only the immediate effects of a single sauna session.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Reacting to the forecast, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: "I ask for understanding and call on all citizens in all the country to exercise extreme caution and take every possible precaution."

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

The protests became a rallying point for young people to shed their caution and voice their frustration.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Still, he said there was difficult work ahead and called on residents to exercise maximum caution for their safety.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

With no time to waste, they threw caution aside.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

He also cautions against romanticising it as a Gen Z uprising.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Worley cautions of deeper-than-anticipated hit to earnings from Middle East project delays.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

But she also cautions investors “to be more vigilant in case there are any signs of oversupply across the AI supply chain.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

She cautions that additional research is still needed before the technology can move closer to clinical use.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026

But the child waren’t having none of her cautions.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

And the author draws on the warning of Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin, evolutionary biologists who cautioned against reading every trait as a perfect adaptation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

However, the researchers cautioned that some orange-flavored beverages containing added sugar may have been incorrectly reported as orange juice.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, welcomed the changes to the structure of government but cautioned that relocation was a big decision for staff.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Goldman Sachs’ chief credit strategist Amanda Lynam has also cautioned about the risks posed by market saturation constraints and issuer concentration.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

James Goodale cautioned that if they published the Pentagon Papers, Nixon would likely come after them using the Espionage Act.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

However, they soon tempered expectations, with Tehran cautioning a deal was "not imminent", while Trump said he had instructed his negotiators "not to rush into" one.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

Likewise, a friend warned me against staying up through 2 a.m. for the premiere of Quentin Dupieux’s “Full Phil,” cautioning that it was the worst film they’d ever seen at Cannes in over a decade.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

“It’s up to Iran to say that the war is over,” Rowlands said, cautioning that Iranian militia allies can threaten other chokepoints, such as the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

BJ’s Wholesale BJ -0.27%decrease; red down pointing triangle Club logged higher profit and sales in its fiscal fourth quarter, while cautioning that profitability could be pressured in the coming year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

She’s cautioning him about what he’s going to do with the knowledge, not the actual mushrooms.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• attention
• care
• discretion
• foresight
• prudence
• vigilance