careful

[kair-fuhl] / ˈkɛər fəl /

ADJECTIVE

cautious; painstaking

Synonyms

STRONGEST

accurate attentive choosy circumspect concerned conscientious deliberate discreet judicious leery meticulous mindful precise prudent rigorous scrupulous sober thorough thoughtful vigilant wary

STRONG

detail-oriented

WEAK

alert apprehensive assiduous chary conservative cool exacting fastidious finicky fussy going to great lengths guarded heedful observant particular playing safe prim protective provident punctilious regardful religious selfdisciplined shy solicitous solid

Antonyms

STRONGEST

careless false foolish heedless idiotic inaccurate inattentive incautious inconsiderate indiscreet inexact irrational lax loose negligent questionable rash reckless thoughtless uncareful uncaring unscrupulous unwise

WEAK

unconcerned

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.

The benefit depended on careful measurement and personalization.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

You have to be careful and check there hasn't been any sewage discharge on the day or soon before and you should be fine but there will always be a baseline level of pollution.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said India has been careful not to engage in a tit-for-tat with Trump, including over tariffs, believing its long-term interests were served by strong US ties.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

But the companies are trying to be careful not to alienate generative AI users, who may have different expectations for responses to their prompts than they do for simpler search terms.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

She wore heavy, careful clothing: lace-up shoes, a pilling woolen skirt in dark gray.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Vocabulary lists containing careful

"Earthquake"

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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

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Unit 9

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