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cautious

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of cautious

having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble
  • a cautious approach to everyday living
Synonyms of cautious

alert, careful, chary, circumspect, conservative, considerate, gingerly, guarded, heedful, safe, wary
Words Related to cautious

advertent, attentive, awake, observant, regardful, vigilant, watchful

hypercautious

foresighted, foresightful, forethoughtful, provident, thoughtful

cagey (also cagy), calculating, canny, shrewd

deliberate, slow

ultracareful, ultracautious
Near Antonyms of cautious

bold, brash, impetuous, rash, reckless, venturesome

asleep, inattentive, regardless

inconsiderate, thoughtless

lax, neglectful, negligent, remiss

imprudent, indiscreet, injudicious

absentminded, forgetful

inadvertent, unintentional, unplanned
Antonyms of cautious

careless, heedless, incautious, unguarded, unmindful, unsafe, unwary

Synonym Discussion of cautious

cautious, circumspect, wary, chary mean prudently watchful and discreet in the face of danger or risk. cautious implies the exercise of forethought usually prompted by fear of danger.
    • a cautious driver
circumspect suggests less fear and stresses the surveying of all possible consequences before acting or deciding.
    • circumspect in his business dealings
wary emphasizes suspiciousness and alertness in watching for danger and cunning in escaping it.
    • keeps a wary eye on the competition
chary implies a cautious reluctance to give, act, or speak freely.
    • chary of signing papers without having read them first

Learn More about cautious

  1. See words that rhyme with cautious Dictionary: Definition of cautious Spanish Central: Translation of cautious Nglish: Translation of cautious for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of cautious for Arabic speakers

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