guarded

[gahr-did]

adjective

1. cautious; careful; prudent.

   to be guarded in one's speech.

   Synonyms: vigilant, circumspect, chary, watchful, wary

2. protected, watched, or restrained, as by a guard.

guarded

/ ˈɡɑːdɪd /

adjective

1. protected or kept under surveillance

2. prudent, restrained, or noncommittal

   a guarded reply

Other Word Forms

• guardedly adverb
• guardedness noun
• self-guarded adjective
• well-guarded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of guarded¹

First recorded in 1500–10; guard + -ed ²

Example Sentences

AFP journalists who arrived on the scene in Mika on Monday found that the tracks were already being repaired, and that the area was being guarded by police and railway security guards.

Read more on Barron's

The blast outside the historic fort was the first such explosion in the heavily guarded city since 2011.

Read more on BBC

US nuclear technology is among its most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.

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Worth far more than 1/100th of a dollar, the pennies were closely guarded by a Mint police officer once they emerged from the machine.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Syrupy aromas drift across the guarded compound of Bangladesh's only licensed distillery, a state-owned producer posting record profits in the Muslim-majority nation, where Islamists are staging a political comeback.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• cautious 
• circumspect 
• reserved 
• restrained