caution
Americannoun
-
alertness and prudence in a hazardous situation; care; wariness.
Landslides ahead—proceed with caution.
- Synonyms:
- vigilance, heed, watchfulness, discretion, circumspection
- Antonyms:
- carelessness
-
a warning against danger or evil; anything serving as a warning.
By way of caution, he told me the difficulties I would face.
- Synonyms:
- counsel, advice, admonition
-
Informal. a person or thing that astonishes or causes mild apprehension.
She's a caution. The way he challenges your remarks is a caution.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
care, forethought, or prudence, esp in the face of danger; wariness
-
something intended or serving as a warning; admonition
-
law a formal warning given to a person suspected or accused of an offence that his words will be taken down and may be used in evidence
-
a notice entered on the register of title to land that prevents a proprietor from disposing of his or her land without a notice to the person who entered the caution
-
informal an amusing or surprising person or thing
she's a real caution
verb
-
(tr) to urge or warn (a person) to be careful
-
(tr) law to give a caution to (a person)
-
(intr) to warn, urge, or advise
he cautioned against optimism
Related Words
See warn.
Other Word Forms
- cautioner noun
- overcaution noun
- recaution verb (used with object)
- supercaution noun
- uncautioned adjective
- well-cautioned adjective
Etymology
Origin of caution
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English caucion, from Latin cautiōn-, stem of cautiō “a taking care,” from caut(us) “taken care” (past participle of cavēre “to take care”) + -iō -ion; caveat
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.
Senior Research Fellow Dr. Paul Joyce emphasized that the findings come from animal research and should be interpreted with caution.
From Science Daily
He cautioned that it remains too early to determine how successful those efforts have been.
From Barron's
But ap Iorwerth struck a note of caution in his speech, saying that his party was "not looking to do the impossible" if he became the next Welsh first minister.
From BBC
"Acts of hate speech and incitement to violence may amount to international crimes," Turk said, cautioning that "those responsible for such crimes may be prosecuted under international law."
From Barron's
So when a few months back he cautioned about “the regularity of bubbles,” “bubble behavior,” and that the “end result is inevitably painful,” investors in AI stocks sat up and listened.
From MarketWatch
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.
