cautiously

American  

[kaw-shuhs-lee] / ˈkɔ ʃəs li /

adverb

1. in a way that shows alertness and prudence in a hazardous or uncertain situation; carefully; warily.

   He stepped cautiously onto the loose planks.

   I am cautiously optimistic that both parties will accept the compromise.

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Other Word Forms

• hypercautiously
  adverb
• ultracautiously
  adverb
• uncautiously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cautiously

First recorded in 1610–20; cautious ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Explanation

Acting cautiously means being careful and hesitant, the way you step cautiously into the first dark room of a haunted house. Whenever you use caution as you do something, you're behaving cautiously. The Latin root, cautio, means "caution, care, or foresight." Thinking through possible dangers of a situation, or considering any problems that might come up, is acting cautiously. You should approach that cow cautiously; she kicked the last person who tried to milk her!

Example Sentences

Amazon-owned Zoox and Tesla are expanding more cautiously, while Uber has abandoned the development of its own autonomous vehicles, which had been marred by a fatal accident in 2018.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026

I was cautiously optimistic about how much enthusiasm there would be for the World Cup.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

Start with the good—because it really is worth celebrating, however cautiously: Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion in Tuesday’s case, Trump v.

From Slate • Jun. 30, 2026

They do wonder whether Qantas is being too optimistic about the per-seat revenue benefit of flying nonstop, but believe that the market is cautiously optimistic about the initiative.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

Then—almost cautiously, for her—she sat down on the edge of his bed.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• carefully
• slowly