Entry Word: careful

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble <careful drivers slow down on slick or icy roadways>

Synonyms alert, cautious, circumspect, considerate, gingerly, guarded, heedful, safe, wary

Related Words attentive, chary, observant, vigilant, watchful; foresighted, forethoughtful, provident; cagey (also cagy), noncommittal; calculating, scheming, shrewd; considerate, thoughtful; deliberate, slow

Near Antonyms bold, impetuous, rash, reckless; inattentive, unobservant; inconsiderate, thoughtless; lax, neglectful, negligent; imprudent, indiscreet, injudicious

Antonyms careless, heedless, incautious, unguarded, unsafe, unwary

2 taking great care and effort <that furniture maker was known to be a most careful worker, so his output was small> — see painstaking