carefully
/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.46 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
With care; attentively, circumspectly.
Example Sentences
- "[…] there was she faine / To call them all in order to her ayde, / And them conjure, upon eternall paine, / To counsell her, so carefully dismayd, / How she might heale her sonne […]"
- "As he was a politician, he discussed all subjects carefully, not offending anyone."
- "He carefully studied the papers, while planning his next move."
- "He carefully avoided the subject all evening."
- "Then his sallow face brightened, for the hall had been carefully furnished, and was very clean. ¶ There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls."
Etymology
From Middle English carfulli, carefulliche, from Old English carfullīċe, ċearfullīċe (“carefully, diligently”), equivalent to careful + -ly.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ǵeh₂r-, carfulli, carfullīċe
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/
- British English: /ˈkɛːf(ə)li/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more carefully (comparative)
most carefully (superlative)