CAUTIOUSLY Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

cautiously

adverb

Definition of cautiously

as in deliberately

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cautiously Rather than spurring action because more teams are in the race, clubs have acted more cautiously. — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 The fox cautiously walked a few feet past us on its journey for bugs and other snacks. — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 While the order doesn’t require judges to set shorter deadlines, Carley Tatman, a Louisiana immigration lawyer, is cautiously optimistic. — Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026 Yet the candidate and his advisers evidently believe that the way to widen that gap is to proceed cautiously. — Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026 Rhian and Riley were cautiously optimistic, given what had happened previously. — Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 Demographic experts are cautiously optimistic about the new scheme, which appears to offer more sustained and holistic support for families. — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026 All fungicides should be used cautiously and according to the label instructions. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Aug. 2026 Democrats feel cautiously optimistic about their chances of taking the House and Jeffries would be in line to be the next speaker. — Rachel Scott, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cautiously

Adverb

Prosecutors, however, claimed Clancy deliberately killed her children and charged her with first-degree murder.

— Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2026
No self-respecting living thing would deliberately sniff, let alone eat, any part of the plant, which also contains highly toxic steroidal alkaloids.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of deliberately

Adverb

Explosives were carefully used to clear a path before army rescuers continued to meticulously dig by hand to reach any survivors inside.

— Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
His carefully coiffed side parting is as immaculate as his smile, something which distinguishes him from the rest of his party whose members tend to grimace rather than grin.

— Esme Nicholson, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of carefully

Adverb

This wider story spans five centuries from the first enslavement of the Caribbean Lucayan and Taíno in 1492 to the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978, which slowly halted the stealing of tens of thousands of Native children through adoptions.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
My perfect Saturday begins slowly with a coffee in my house, catching the first sunlight.

— Chadner Navarro, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of slowly

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cautious

cautiously

cautiousness

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“Cautiously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cautiously. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of cautiously

adverb

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