Meaning & use
cautioning
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“cautioning” is a form of “caution”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Present participle of 'caution': warning someone about a possible danger or problem.
Grammar: Used in continuous tenses or as a participle: 'She is cautioning the drivers.' It takes a person or group as its object.
Patterns
- caution someone about something
- caution someone against doing something
- caution that …
The lifeguard is cautioning swimmers about the strong current today.
Officials kept cautioning residents against drinking the tap water.
He was cautioning us that the roads might freeze overnight.
noununcountable
The act of giving a warning, or warnings given one after another.
Grammar: Used as a noun naming the activity; it is not usually counted, so you say 'some cautioning' rather than 'a cautioning'.
Patterns
- after repeated cautioning
- despite cautioning from someone
Despite repeated cautioning from teachers, the students kept using their phones.
A little cautioning before the trip would have prevented the accident.
Word forms
| third person singular | cautions |
|---|---|
| past tense | cautioned |
| past participle | cautioned |
| -ing form | cautioning |
Common combinations
- caution someone against something
- Doctors caution patients against taking too much of this medicine.
- caution someone about a risk
- The guide cautioned us about slippery rocks near the waterfall.
- strongly caution
- Police strongly cautioned fans not to rush the stage.
- caution that …
- Economists cautioned that prices could rise again next year.
- a word of caution
- A word of caution: the trail gets very dark after sunset.
Synonyms and how they differ
- warn
- The most everyday choice and often stronger in tone; 'caution' sounds a little more formal and careful.
- advise
- Focuses on giving helpful guidance rather than pointing out danger, so it fits less well when real risk is involved.
- alert
- Suggests making someone suddenly aware of a danger; 'caution' is more about advising care in advance.
Word family
- caution noun
- care taken to avoid danger, or an official warning.
- cautionary adjective
- serving as a warning, as in a cautionary tale.
- cautious adjective
- careful to avoid risk or danger.
- cautiously adverb
- in a careful way that avoids risk.
Commonly confused: cautioning or cushioning?
cautioning vs cushioning
Sounds similar but means softening a shock or impact, not giving a warning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cautioning' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Caution' takes the person warned as its object, followed by 'about' plus the danger: caution someone about something. Option 2 wrongly makes the danger the object of 'to', and option 4 reverses the roles.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cautioning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.