: careful about avoiding danger or risk
cautious investors
cautious optimism
cautiously
adverb
cautiousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of cautious in a Sentence
Any cautious tourist will guard her passport.
You cannot be overly cautious when you're driving in snow.
He answered the question with a cautious reply.
Recent Examples on the Web
Our coverage has been cautious and in line with the judge’s orders.
—
Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Saturday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s latest injury update on Kawhi Leonard and his availability was cautious and optimistic for Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Bonello takes the cautionary tale about the dangers of being too cautious and takes it in unexpected directions.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
Stocks started the day higher but fell later, as investors grew more cautious as Wednesday went on.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024
Even the executives of the nation’s leading defense contractors, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, are cautious about upsetting Chinese-Japanese relations, fearing that their business activities in China could face severe repercussions.
—Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
The Marlins were always going to be cautious with Meyer.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Shifting from their once cautious stance on the state, Democrats argued the measure would drive turnout, particularly among progressive and younger voters, boosting Biden's prospects there.
—James Call, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Iran’s leaders have been cautious about risking a direct confrontation with Israel or the United States, as would almost certainly happen if a secret bombmaking program was discovered.
—Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Saturday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s latest injury update on Kawhi Leonard and his availability was cautious and optimistic for Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Bonello takes the cautionary tale about the dangers of being too cautious and takes it in unexpected directions.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
Stocks started the day higher but fell later, as investors grew more cautious as Wednesday went on.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024
Even the executives of the nation’s leading defense contractors, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, are cautious about upsetting Chinese-Japanese relations, fearing that their business activities in China could face severe repercussions.
—Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
The Marlins were always going to be cautious with Meyer.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Shifting from their once cautious stance on the state, Democrats argued the measure would drive turnout, particularly among progressive and younger voters, boosting Biden's prospects there.
—James Call, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Iran’s leaders have been cautious about risking a direct confrontation with Israel or the United States, as would almost certainly happen if a secret bombmaking program was discovered.
—Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cautious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cautious
Cite this Entry
“Cautious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cautious. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cautious
adjective
cau·tious
ˈkȯ-shəs 
: marked by or given to caution
a cautious reply
cautiously
adverb
cautiousness
noun
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