carefully

[ kair-fuh-lee ]

adverb

1. in a cautious way, with attention to possible risks and dangers:

   Although somewhat "folksy" in his interview, the congressman carefully avoided pitfalls where he would be vulnerable to attack.

2. in a thorough, attentive, or painstaking way, giving thought to avoiding errors or omissions:

   I have to carefully examine the copy editor's marked-up manuscript, double-checking everything and approving or vetoing changes.

Other Words From

• qua·si-care·ful·ly adverb
• ul·tra·care·ful·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of carefully¹

First recorded before 1000; careful ( def ) + -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

Without a unified standard, it’s important to be careful and do your research when purchasing a filter.

From Outside Online

Their study, released in preprint, also suggests the power of careful initial targeting in reducing deaths.

From MIT Technology Review

Jung, like Freud, recognized that possibility and was generally careful not to be dogmatic in his conclusions.

From Nautilus

Those are two very… unfortunately it’s a, it’s a fine line when you look at how careful people try to be about coding the language to sort of get around it.

From MIT Technology Review

I used a bandage, and it did a great job, but be careful to position it well the first time—when you remove it, fuzz from the cloth will stick to it.

From Popular-Science

The EPA felt that the State Department had not looked carefully enough at the impact of the pipeline if oil prices fell.

From The Daily Beast

Here is our carefully curated list of the top cities to visit in 2015.

From The Daily Beast

However, it deserves to be carefully studied in order to update the information which is provided to the volunteers.

From The Daily Beast

Ferret is a carefully chosen comparison, implying diligence but absolutely no imagination.

From The Daily Beast

They carefully scanned open windows along the route, looking for places where a shooter might hide.

From The Daily Beast

After a bit of waiting, Mac decided that the smoke was floating from a certain direction, and we began to edge carefully that way.

From Project Gutenberg

There was no one in sight, and he carefully raised the cover a little way and tried to look in.

From Project Gutenberg

"It will go through, if I live," calmly replied Harry, as he carefully concealed the message in the lining of his coat.

From Project Gutenberg

And lifting them carefully one off the other, he took out a deal box that had stood in the lowest stratum.

From Project Gutenberg

We came down the rest of the mountain more carefully, though still a great deal too fast.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anxiously
• attentively
• conscientiously
• correctly
• deliberately
• delicately
• discreetly
• faithfully
• fully
• gingerly
• laboriously
• meticulously
• precisely
• prudently
• rigorously
• scrupulously
• thoroughly
• thoughtfully
• warily