as in warning
serving as or offering a warning
the story of King Midas is a cautionary tale about the perils of wishing for something—you just might get it
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Recent Examples of cautionary
Silicon Valley dreamt up poor derivations of past cautionary tales and created a monoculture of exploitative social media feeds and predatory data-hungry apps that birthed Orwell’s surveillance state.
—
John Lopez, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
These biases can lead to impulsive decisions like following trends, holding losing stocks too long, or ignoring cautionary advice.
—Chris Stevens, Nashville Tennessean, 19 Oct. 2025
Here the cautionary note is perhaps the strongest.
—Nick Tzitzon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
No surprise, then, that this is a fairly respectful rendition, upping the spectacle but staying true to the somberness of Shelley’s cautionary tale.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Japan offers a cautionary tale.
—Allison Schrager, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Whether Albania’s actions represent an aspirational model for the future of governance, or a cautionary tale on the hazards of deployment without sufficient transparency and public involvement, will depend on what happens next.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
Its previous run offers a cautionary tale.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025
But as inspiring as Mamdani’s rise has been, DSA’s shambolic life on the national level should be a cautionary tale for the British leftists.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2025
John Lopez, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
These biases can lead to impulsive decisions like following trends, holding losing stocks too long, or ignoring cautionary advice.
—Chris Stevens, Nashville Tennessean, 19 Oct. 2025
Here the cautionary note is perhaps the strongest.
—Nick Tzitzon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
No surprise, then, that this is a fairly respectful rendition, upping the spectacle but staying true to the somberness of Shelley’s cautionary tale.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Japan offers a cautionary tale.
—Allison Schrager, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Whether Albania’s actions represent an aspirational model for the future of governance, or a cautionary tale on the hazards of deployment without sufficient transparency and public involvement, will depend on what happens next.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
Its previous run offers a cautionary tale.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025
But as inspiring as Mamdani’s rise has been, DSA’s shambolic life on the national level should be a cautionary tale for the British leftists.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cautionary
warning
Adjective
-
The bureau also will post more warning notices at 750 livestock sale facilities and review other potential changes to federal regulations.—
SCOTT SONNER,
Star Tribune,
27 July 2021
-
In response, statistical authorities around the world could do little but issue warning press releases.—
Andrew Whitby,
Time,
17 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Cautionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cautionary. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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