Meaning & use
cautious
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Taking care to avoid risk, trouble, or error by thinking ahead and not rushing into things.
Grammar: Often followed by about or of: be cautious about spending.
Patterns
- be cautious about something
- be cautious of someone
- be cautious in doing something
She is cautious about lending money to friends.
The doctor gave a cautious welcome to the new treatment.
Drivers should be extra cautious on icy roads.
Word forms
| comparative | more cautious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most cautious |
Common combinations
- cautious approach
- The bank took a cautious approach to the new loan scheme.
- cautious optimism
- Investors reacted with cautious optimism to the news.
- cautious about
- I'm cautious about trusting reviews that sound too perfect.
- cautiously optimistic
- The team is cautiously optimistic about next season.
- cautious estimate
- A cautious estimate puts the cost at ten thousand dollars.
Synonyms and how they differ
- careful
- Careful is broader and can mean paying close attention to detail, while cautious stresses guarding against danger or risk.
- wary
- Wary suggests you already distrust something or someone, whereas cautious simply means you are being prudent.
- prudent
- Prudent is more formal and often praises sound judgment about money or planning, not just avoiding danger.
- guarded
- Guarded describes what someone says or reveals, as in a guarded reply, while cautious describes general behavior.
Opposites
Word family
- caution noun
- care taken to avoid danger, or a warning
- cautiously adverb
- in a careful, risk-avoiding way
- cautionary adjective
- serving as a warning, as in a cautionary tale
- caution verb
- to warn someone about a possible danger
- incautious adjective
- not careful about risks
Commonly confused: cautious or conscious?
cautious vs conscious
Conscious means aware or awake and is unrelated to being careful, though the two words sound slightly alike.
Practice
After losing money last year, Mia has become ____ about investing.
Choose one answer.
Cautious about means careful to avoid risk, which fits after a loss. Careless would suggest the opposite, and curious does not describe protective behavior.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cautious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.