Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cautionary

/ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.95 in modern English

Syllables
cau-tion-ary
IPA
/ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Serving to caution or warn; admonitory

adj

Serving to ward off; preventive

adj

Held as security or hostage

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin cautiōnārius.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/
  • British English: /ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more cautionary (comparative) most cautionary (superlative)

Phrases

cautionary block cautionary tale

Synonyms

admonitory exemplary monitory warning prophylactic

Questions

How do you pronounce cautionary?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/.
What does cautionary mean?
Serving to caution or warn; admonitory
Where does cautionary come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin cautiōnārius.

How to pronounce cautionary

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cautionary”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cautionary”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cautionary” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.