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

See Examples For:

cautiously

However, Xu said Shein remained "cautiously optimistic" for the rest of this year.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Mindful of the need to keep the public informed without causing unnecessary alarm, YVO responds cautiously.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Emerging evidence supports a cautiously constructive view that the outcome stemmed from an isolated manufacturing or product-characterisation issue, Stanton explains in a note to clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Yet - in public - Europe's leaders have remained cautiously quiet.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

I rise and move cautiously toward the others.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Related Words

• carefully
• slowly