adjective
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protected or kept under surveillance
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prudent, restrained, or noncommittal
a guarded reply
Other Word Forms
- guardedly adverb
- guardedness noun
- self-guarded adjective
- well-guarded adjective
Etymology
Origin of guarded
Explanation
Someone who's guarded is careful, restrained, and maybe a little bit wary. It's normal for a new rescue dog to be guarded when you first bring her home. People tend to be guarded in certain situations — when they're being criticized, or are at a party where they don't know a single person. Others simply have guarded personalities, always starting from a position of cautiousness. Guarded can also literally mean "protected," like a guarded castle, but you'll more often find it describing a restrained person.
Vocabulary lists containing guarded
"Skins" and "Nicole"
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Careful
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Vocabulary from Readings 6, Unit 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Is artificial intelligence so powerful that it needs to be carefully guarded?
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
Outside the election authority, a small group gathered as police guarded the building and investigators took statements.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
The disciplinary files of Los Angeles police officers are closely guarded secrets, protected by some of the nation’s strictest confidentiality laws.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Until the 1990s, Apple had a team of corporate librarians who guarded the company’s archival treasures like they were trade secrets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Mr. Rochester was safe: he was God’s, and by God would he be guarded.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
