precautious

[pri-kaw-shuhs]

adjective

1. using or displaying precaution.

   a precautious reply; a precautious person.

Word History and Origins

Origin of precautious¹

First recorded in 1705–15; precauti(on) + -ous

Example Sentences

"So far clients haven't been cancelling, but they are being more precautious about travelling. We've been getting a lot of inquiries about safety," said Matt Berna, Americas President of Intrepid Travel, a group tour and travel company.

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Safety precautious stopped Kakao from resuming power supplies to its servers, the Yonhap news agency reported.

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Safety precautious were preventing Kakao from resuming power supplies to its data centre, Yonhap news agency reported.

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“Are we being overly precautious? Maybe. But particularly with your cardiac history, you’re at higher risk.”

Read more on Scientific American

"We are always hoping against hope, but it's still too early to take our eye off a very precautious approach."

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Related Words

• attentive 
• careful 
• considerate 
• intelligent 
• noncommittal 
• prudent 
• reasonable 
• restrained 
• tactful 
• thoughtful 
• watchful 

When To Use

What does precautious mean?

Precautious is an adjective that means being careful by actively preparing to avoid something negative. It can refer to a person or an action.Precautious is very similar to cautious. They both mean being prudent to avoid something bad, but precautious has the added sense of doing something beforehand to try to prevent the bad thing from happening.Example: I decided to be precautious and have my mechanic check out my car before the big road trip.