Cautelous
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Skillful in trickery or deception; cunning, wily. obsolete
"The least touch of [Gaveston's] memory adds more to the King's affliction, who is fixt not to forget, or forgive, so bold and heinous a Trespass. The operations in the King were yet so powerful, but the jelousies of the Actors [who have killed Gaveston] are as cautelous, so fair a warning-piece bids them in time make good their own security. Lincoln, the principal Pillar of this Faction, follows his Adversary [Gaveston] to the Grave, but with a much fairer Fortune."
- 2 Cautious, careful. obsolete
"Some are of disposition fearefull, some bold, most cautelous, all Savage."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"The least touch of [Gaveston's] memory adds more to the King's affliction, who is fixt not to forget, or forgive, so bold and heinous a Trespass. The operations in the King were yet so powerful, but the jelousies of the Actors [who have killed Gaveston] are as cautelous, so fair a warning-piece bids them in time make good their own security. Lincoln, the principal Pillar of this Faction, follows his Adversary [Gaveston] to the Grave, but with a much fairer Fortune."
Etymology
From Middle French cauteleux.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.