cautious

/ˈkɔʃəs/

/ˈkɔʃəs/

Cautious, like careful, means you're on guard. You should be cautious crossing a busy street, or cautious borrowing your sister's new shoes without asking.

A fusing of caution and ous, the adjective cautious is the opposite of hasty and rash. It actually comes from the Latin word cautus, which means "careful" or "heedful." Cautious people always take their time, always approach decisions thoughtfully, and never "throw caution to the wind." All that wariness may sound tedious, but as Confucius said, "The cautious seldom err."

Definitions of cautious

1. adjective

   showing careful forethought
   “reserved and cautious”

   “a cautious driver”

   synonyms:

   unadventurous

   lacking in boldness

   careful

   exercising caution or showing care or attention

   cagey, cagy, chary

   characterized by great caution and wariness

   fabian

   using cautious slow strategy to wear down opposition; avoiding direct confrontation

   gingerly

   with extreme care or delicacy

   guarded, restrained

   prudent

   overcautious

   unnecessarily cautious

   antonyms:

   incautious

   lacking in caution

   adventuresome, adventurous

   willing to undertake or seeking out new and daring enterprises

   careless

   marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful

   brainish, hotheaded, impetuous, impulsive, madcap, tearaway

   characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation
2. adjective

   avoiding excess
   synonyms: conservative

   moderate

   being within reasonable or average limits; not excessive or extreme
3. noun

   people who are fearful and cautious
   synonyms: timid

   type of:

   people

   (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively