cautionary
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cautionary
Explanation
When something is cautionary, it’s meant to be a warning to you. Your parents might be fond of telling cautionary tales, like the one about the girl who got electrocuted sticking a knife into the toaster. While driving, look for cautionary signs warning you of potential danger: falling rocks, kids crossing, hidden driveway. You might use cautionary words: “Watch your step! There’s glass all over the floor!” Don’t confuse cautionary with cautious, which means trying to avoid danger. Tell a cautionary tale about someone drowning because he swam too far out into the ocean and an overly cautious kid might decide never to swim again.
Vocabulary lists containing cautionary
ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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Tone and Point of View, List 3
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World Without Fish
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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.
Sam Adams reviews this cautionary tale of corporate greed and explains how the story of the movie’s release came to mirror the one it was telling.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
"What if I have completely overestimated my capabilities? What if my story ends up being a cautionary tale like Icarus about flying too close to the sun?" he writes in the book.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Bothwell, the astronomer, also said the collision would provide a cautionary tale about the issue of ever-accumulating, human-made space clutter.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
If your home contains more than two bookcases, you probably know the cautionary tale of Homer and Langley Collyer.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Don’t become the next cautionary tale,” Ms. Ramos had said, giving a strong warning to us rising ninth-graders in the room.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
