caution

[kaw-shuhn]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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

   Synonyms: forewarn, admonish

verb (used without object)

1. to warn or advise.

   The newspapers caution against overoptimism.

caution

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of caution¹

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; caveat

Word History and Origins

Origin of caution¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin cautiō, from cavēre to beware

Idioms and Phrases

see throw caution to the winds.

Synonym Study

See warn.

Example Sentences

He also cautioned now against the EU's measures "redirecting millions of tonnes of steel towards the UK", something which could be "terminal for many of our remaining steel companies".

From BBC

In short, he comes to the subject of humanoid robots with knowledge born of hands-on experience, so his caution demands our attention.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet some experts have cautioned that claims made by Chinese chipmakers should be taken with a pinch of salt due to a lack of publicly available data and consistent testing benchmarks.

From BBC

“I’ve been briefed on the ongoing incident outside of City Hall, which is currently being evacuated out of an abundance of caution,” L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

But they cautioned that the online tool is for “exploratory purposes only” — and that a binding eligibility map will eventually be published by the Southern California Assn. of Governments.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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