circumspect
[ sur-kuhm-spekt ]
/ ˈsɜr kəmˌspɛkt /
adjective
watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent: circumspect behavior.
well-considered: circumspect ambition.
RELATED WORDS
warily, delicately, thoroughly, laboriously, gingerly, faithfully, deliberately, correctly, fully, scrupulously, precisely, discreetly, rigorously, anxiously, conscientiously, meticulously, prudently, attentively, hesitantly, cautiously
Nearby words
- circumscribed myxedema,
- circumscribed scleroderma,
- circumscript,
- circumscription,
- circumsolar,
- circumspection,
- circumspective,
- circumstance,
- circumstanced,
- circumstances
Origin of circumspect
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin circumspectus (past participle of circumspicere to look around), equivalent to circum- circum- + spec(ere) to look + -tus past participle suffix
SYNONYMS FOR circumspect
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for circumspectly
circumspect
/ (ˈsɜːkəmˌspɛkt) /
adjective
cautious, prudent, or discreet
Word Origin for circumspect
C15: from Latin circumspectus, from circum- + specere to look
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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circumspect
early 15c., from Latin circumspectus "deliberate, guarded, well-considered," past participle of circumspicere "look around, take heed," from circum- "around" (see circum-) + specere "to look" (see scope (n.1)). Related: Circumspectly; circumspectness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper