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# cautiously

«cautiously» in Mova's school dictionary: **Carefully, so as to avoid danger or mistakes** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adverb (cautiously; more cautiously)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Carefully, so as to avoid danger or mistakes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#m1)

2) Slowly and not fully trusting something yet («cautiously hopeful»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In safety lessons it describes how to cross roads, climb, or handle hot or sharp things. In stories it shows a character who is nervous or wary — creeping cautiously into a dark room. In the news, «cautiously optimistic» means hopeful but not sure. It tells the reader to expect care, slowness or doubt.

### examples

- We crossed the busy road cautiously, looking both ways. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x1)
- The cat cautiously sniffed the new food. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x2)
- She cautiously opened the creaky door. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x3)
- Hold the scissors cautiously, with the points down. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x4)
- The doctors are cautiously hopeful that he will get better. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x5)
- He stepped cautiously onto the frozen pond — a dangerous idea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x6)
- The deer moved cautiously out of the trees. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x7)
- Cautiously, I lifted the lid of the mystery box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x8)
- “What kind of adventure?” he asked cautiously. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/#x9)

### note

Adverb from «cautious» + -ly; noun «caution». Spelling: c-a-u-t-i-o-u-s-l-y. Safety tip: never walk on frozen ponds or lakes, however cautiously.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «cautiously» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cautiously/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.