caution
alertness and prudence in a hazardous situation; care; wariness: Landslides ahead—proceed with caution.
a warning against danger or evil; anything serving as a warning: By way of caution, he told me the difficulties I would face.
Informal. a person or thing that astonishes or causes mild apprehension: She's a caution. The way he challenges your remarks is a caution.
to give warning to; advise or urge to take heed.
to warn or advise: The newspapers caution against overoptimism.
Origin of caution
1synonym study For caution
Other words for caution
Opposites for caution
Other words from caution
- cau·tion·er, noun
- o·ver·cau·tion, noun, verb (used with object)
- re·cau·tion, verb (used with object)
- su·per·cau·tion, noun
- un·cau·tioned, adjective
- well-cautioned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use caution in a sentence
But she cautions against depending on getaways for happiness.
Of course, Knox also cautions contestants to be prepared for the personal ramifications off-camera.
Inside ‘The Sex Factor’: Where 16 Men and Women Vie For Porn Immortality | Aurora Snow | November 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAmirpour cautions, however, that Bad City is only “Iran, Iran” as far as Gotham City is New York.
The Punk Behind Iran's Only Vampire Spaghetti Western-Style Love Story | Melissa Leon | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBree cautions us against thinking about any of the characters singly.
As alarming as parents might find those results, Dr. Temple cautions against jumping to any drastic conclusions.
The first man was passed through the bars amid a suppressed buzz of whispered cautions.
Scott finished dressing the arm, giving the patient sundry cautions meanwhile; and I got up to leave.
Johnny Ludlow, Fourth Series | Mrs. Henry WoodAnd instantly a perfect seething of the cautions and reserves with which I must do it sprang up in my brain.
In Accordance with the Evidence | Oliver OnionsIt breathed kind affection, with one or two demi-maternal cautions about his health, and to be very prudent for her sake.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles ReadeAs before, the straight and narrow path is marked off by cautions on the right and on the left.
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of Matthew | John Monro Gibson
British Dictionary definitions for caution
/ (ˈkɔːʃən) /
care, forethought, or prudence, esp in the face of danger; wariness
something intended or serving as a warning; admonition
law, mainly British 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
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
informal an amusing or surprising person or thing: she's a real caution
(tr) to urge or warn (a person) to be careful
(tr) law, mainly British to give a caution to (a person)
(intr) to warn, urge, or advise: he cautioned against optimism
Origin of caution
1Derived forms of caution
- cautioner, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with caution
see throw caution to the winds.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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