carefully
Americanadverb
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in a cautious way, with attention to possible risks and dangers.
Although somewhat "folksy" in his interview, the congressman carefully avoided pitfalls where he would be vulnerable to attack.
-
in a thorough, attentive, or painstaking way, giving thought to avoiding errors or omissions.
I have to carefully examine the copy editor's marked-up manuscript, double-checking everything and approving or vetoing changes.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carefully
First recorded before 1000; careful ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
Carefully means cautiously or painstakingly. If you carefully study your vocabulary words, you'll ace your next quiz! This adverb comes from the Old English carfullice — but before coming to mean "in a way that avoids harm," it meant "sorrowfully." In fact, the very oldest meaning of care was "to be anxious or to grieve." These days, you don't cry when you do something carefully. You just take your time and make sure you're doing it right and that no one's being harmed by it, like when you check carefully behind your car for the neighbor's cat before you back out of the driveway.
Vocabulary lists containing carefully
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.
Any introduction to another animal would be done very carefully – perhaps giving them an object that smells of the other before they see each other.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2026
The team conducted experiments under carefully controlled temperatures and pressures designed to reproduce conditions encountered by magma underground.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2026
The Bank of Japan needs to tread carefully when tightening policy, board member Toichiro Asada said, warning about the risk of higher interest rates hurting economic growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
For the women who already live some of their lives online, joining a reality show can seem redundant and risky, inviting fresh vitriol that could add more emotional stress or threaten their carefully built brands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
There on the sill, the broken pieces fitted carefully together, sat the wooden triangle.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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