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gingerly 1 of 2

adjective

ˈjin-jər-lē How to pronounce gingerly (audio)
Definition of gingerlynext
as in careful
having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble gave the cork on the bottle of champagne a gingerly twist

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

gingerly

2 of 2

adverb

as in carefully

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Example Sentences

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 gingerly
Adjective
Despite the satisfaction that handlers take in gingerly nursing pangolins back to their full strength, the center’s location and the handlers’ identities must remain a secret. — Kang-Chun Cheng, Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 2025 Unlike the gingerly approach to easing restrictions targeting the spread of the virus, the country is split over reopening businesses and schools. — Kendall Karson, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2021
Adverb
Then, as Cerúndolo prepared to serve, Sinner grimaced, took a few gingerly steps, and stretched his apparently cramping legs. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Adames then led off the bottom of the seventh, popping out and jogging gingerly back to the dugout. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gingerly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gingerly
  1. careful
  2. carefully
  3. wary
  4. formally
  5. cautious
  6. methodically
  7. orderly
  8. systematically
Adjective
  • Renault is careful to frame this as a style exercise rather than a preview of a production model.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Awash with new property tax funds, local governments often haven’t been careful stewards of residents’ tax dollars.
    — Elaine Parker, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of careful
Adverb
  • The suites are smaller but just as carefully done, good for couples who'd rather spend the room budget on a spa treatment or an extra round of golf.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez created the film’s promotional website in 1998, filling it with fake police reports, evidence photographs and an elaborate mythology while carefully avoiding any suggestion that their story was fictional.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of carefully
Adjective
  • Travelers should be wary of unexpected obstacles littering the roadway as high winds cause trees and power lines to fall.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Opinion has changed, as the public has grown wary of AI and its ability to amass and synthesize many forms of data.
    — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of wary
Adverb
  • The Creatives will be formally created at closing, following technical steps expected to take a few months.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The October 3 ceremony in Whittier will formally place Ted Stevens in Navy service.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of formally
Adjective
  • Drug development is highly regulated, and executives have good reasons to be cautious about changing how major decisions are made.
    — George Achilleos, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • McNamara also wanted to create a performance-focused, consumer-centric drive in a business that had grown up under the umbrella of a more cautious pharmaceutical company.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of cautious
Adverb
  • The stock climbed methodically from the low $270s last fall, riding the rising 50-day the entire way with the 200-day providing the broader structural floor below.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Just as Grossman had to reconstruct the camp at Treblinka after attempts to erase it, so Littell methodically — at times forensically, through interviews with pathologists, survivors and grave diggers — recreates the killings in Bucha.
    — Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of methodically
Adverb
  • The man worked as a hospital orderly, according to the AP.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026
  • Policymakers have moved to keep the selloff orderly.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Definition of orderly
Adverb
  • But the death of Khamenei eliminated the regime’s paramount figure, disturbing the existing balance, and the war is systematically privileging the parts of the state responsible for survival over everything else.
    — Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2026
  • John soon deduces that this is Anton’s (Paul Ben-Victor) planet, the one that had been systematically that wiped out by the Manhunter.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of systematically

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gingerliness
gingerly
gingersnap
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Cite this Entry

“Gingerly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gingerly. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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