heedful
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heedful
Explanation
Being heedful means paying careful attention to something (or someone). You'll want to be especially heedful of your best friend's feelings if he's having a bad week. If you're heedful, you're mindful or attentive. You should be heedful of drinking plenty of water when you work outside on a hot summer day, and heedful of the crumbling stone steps if you're exploring the ruins of an old building. It's also important to be heedful of the way other people feel. This adjective comes from heed, "careful attention," and its Old English root hedan, "observe or protect."
Vocabulary lists containing heedful
The Odyssey
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
All's Well That Ends Well
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Comedy of Errors
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Heedful of these complaints, the Reagan Administration has been trying to coax the Japanese into allowing the yen to rise in value.
From Time Magazine Archive
Of what avail is prudence, if it fail Heedful to mark the purposes of Heaven!
From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 01 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. by Francke, Kuno
Of what avail is prudence, if it fail Heedful to mark the purposes of Heaven?
From Iphigenia in Tauris by Swanwick, Anna
Heedful, as I ever am to attend to the sufferings of others—a pursuit in which I have found ample fee-licity—I drew on my boots and followed the applicant to the house of the suffering gentleman.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 472, January 22, 1831 by Various
Heedful of his companion's admonition he relaxed in apparent unconcern, but his hand stole once more to the fold in his blouse.
From Slaves of Mercury by Schachner, Nathan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
