ENGLISH
REFERENCE

careful

adj.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈkɛɹfəɫ// UK //kˈeəfəl// care·ful Archaic General-service

adj. making sure you do something correctly and safely so you do not make mistakes or cause damage. You are careful when you pay close attention to what you are doing.

adj. exercising caution, precision, or thoroughness to avoid harm, error, or omission. Often used to describe a person's manner or the quality of a specific action.


SIMPLE

Please be careful with that glass vase.

CONTEXTUAL

You need to be careful when driving on these narrow, icy mountain roads at night.

COMPLEX

A careful analysis of the financial records revealed several small but significant discrepancies that the previous auditors had overlooked during their initial review.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English careful, from Old English carful; equivalent to care + -ful.

Usage

Commonly followed by the prepositions 'with', 'about', or 'of'.

Pitfall

He is very careful for his healthHe is very careful about his healthWhen expressing concern or attention to a topic, 'careful' typically takes 'about' or 'with', not 'for'.

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