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.
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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.
Ratha Sor trod carefully when asked about government-backed infrastructure projects responsible for some of that deforestation.
From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026
“I was distressed that the sacred space of trust that I so carefully cultivated with each patient was being breached by the institution without my knowledge or assent,” she wrote.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026
Mr. Hargreaves, a British journalist who has published several books on World War II Germany, offers a well-written and carefully researched account that illuminates all sides of these grinding battles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
Look carefully and see the reflection in the £220 mirrored stainless-steel teapot.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
Very carefully I placed a trap in each hole and covered it with leaves.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
