caution
Americannoun
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cautions
plural
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alertness and prudence in a hazardous situation; care; wariness.
Landslides ahead—proceed with caution.
- Synonyms:
- vigilance, heed, watchfulness, discretion, circumspection
- Antonyms:
- carelessness
-
a warning against danger or evil; anything serving as a warning.
By way of caution, he told me the difficulties I would face.
- Synonyms:
- counsel, advice, admonition
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Informal. a person or thing that astonishes or causes mild apprehension.
She's a caution. The way he challenges your remarks is a caution.
verb (used with object)
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cautions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cautioned,
past participle, past
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cautioning
present participle
verb (used without object)
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cautions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cautioned,
past participle, past
-
cautioning
present participle
noun
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care, forethought, or prudence, esp in the face of danger; wariness
-
something intended or serving as a warning; admonition
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law a formal warning given to a person suspected or accused of an offence that his words will be taken down and may be used in evidence
-
a notice entered on the register of title to land that prevents a proprietor from disposing of his or her land without a notice to the person who entered the caution
-
informal an amusing or surprising person or thing
she's a real caution
verb
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(tr) to urge or warn (a person) to be careful
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(tr) law to give a caution to (a person)
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(intr) to warn, urge, or advise
he cautioned against optimism
Synonym Usage
See warn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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cautionernoun
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overcautionnoun
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supercautionnoun
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recautionverb (used with object)
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uncautionedadjective
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well-cautionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cautionsimple
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cautionssimple
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have cautionedperfect
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has cautionedperfect
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am cautioningprogressive
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are cautioningprogressive
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is cautioningprogressive
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have been cautioningperfect progressive
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has been cautioningperfect progressive
Past
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cautionedsimple
-
had cautionedperfect
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was cautioningprogressive
-
were cautioningprogressive
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had been cautioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caution
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English caucion, from Latin cautiōn-, stem of cautiō “a taking care,” from caut(us) “taken care” (past participle of cavēre “to take care”) + -iō -ion; cf. caveat
Explanation
If you act with caution, it means you are careful. Be sure to use caution when walking across a patch of ice. Otherwise, you might end up sprawling face-first on the ground. Ouch! The noun caution can be used to describe something that calls for careful action and the need to avoid risk, such as a volatile political situation that requires extreme caution. The word also has a verb form with a similar meaning. It’s a more formal way of saying “warn” and usually appears with against or that, as in, "Teachers caution against waiting until the last minute to study," or, "They caution that effective studying takes a long time."
Vocabulary lists containing caution
"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 5
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 3
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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.
See Examples For:
“What I would want to caution people against is thinking that the thirst or the engagement is the end — that’s been my reservation with it,” she said.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Others caution drivers to slow for horse-drawn buggies that skirt in and out of the tree line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
From Paramount’s vantage point, this coverage was all to the good, as my colleague Meg James reported, because it all tended to favor the deal and sound a caution about a non-deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
But France's interior minister Laurent Nunez has urged caution while an investigation is ongoing, saying that authorities are pursuing all leads.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
With infinite caution he edged the canoe past the corner of the great building and looked along what must have been the front.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Dr. Seema Yasmin, an educator, author and clinical assistant professor at Stanford University, cautions users.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
In a phone interview, Paul Staniland, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, cautions against overestimating the effect of public opinion surveys on U.S. foreign policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Given that bitcoin has repeatedly suffered peak-to-trough drawdowns that last longer than traditional markets can stand, he cautions against assuming the bottom is in.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
One of the researchers cautions against viewing screen time as entirely harmful and says the goal should be to balance physical activity with screen use that encourages active thinking.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Quiet. We don’t want others to hear us,” Ma cautions me.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
However, Purser cautioned that setting up an effective evaluator system won’t be sufficient to catch all AI threats, as unforeseen risks will inevitably emerge.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Scientific American” cautioned in 1939 that “as much water as possible must be preserved to replenish ground water storage.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth cautioned that global supplies are running low, with no respite in sight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
A recent report by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which will co-host the summit, cautioned that the scale and depth of investible opportunity is the country's greatest weakness.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
“You’re going too fast, Bull. Slow down, please,” Lillian cautioned.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
“It’s clear from experience with Waymo that these autonomous vehicles can’t deal with unanticipated circumstances, so we are certainly cautioning about the dangers of 26,000 pounds barreling down the highways at 65 miles per hour.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
"Do not use this pill under any circumstance," the institute said in its warning, cautioning that the drug could cause "overheating with potentially fatal consequences".
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
"Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest," he said, while cautioning against a repeat of widespread anti-immigrant rioting last June.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
His comment came after US President Donald Trump said negotiations were being conducted in an "orderly and constructive manner", even while cautioning that US negotiators had been advised "not to rush into a deal".
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
I leaned forward very slowly, cautioning him with my eyes.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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.
