cautiously

[ kaw-shuhs-lee ]

adverb

in a way that shows alertness and prudence in a hazardous or uncertain situation; carefully; warily: He stepped cautiously onto the loose planks.I am cautiously optimistic that both parties will accept the compromise.

Origin of cautiously

First recorded in 1610–20; cautious + -ly

British commanders then, and British writers later, would maintain they had moved too cautiously.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day | James Jones | November 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
What makes Noah mildly ambivalent, yet cautiously optimistic?
The Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah Sounds Off on Weed, the Weather, and Winning | Bill Schulz | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Brakey was cautiously optimistic about his chances in November.
Rand Paul's Maine Man | Ben Jacobs | June 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The pilots cautiously edge their way to maximum speed in stages.
Branson’s Galactic Obstacles: Tom Bower Puts a Damper on Virgin’s Space Flight Dreams | Clive Irving | January 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Read this if you want to spend the rest of your life cautiously rubbing your neck.
The Injuries That Made Peyton Manning and Tom Brady | Ben Teitelbaum | January 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

There was no response to the knock, and Davy cautiously pushed open the door and went in.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. Carryl
She stood at the head of the stairs; she went down a few steps, and listened; then cautiously she descended.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The lascar moved his feet cautiously, and they rustled among dried stumps.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard Kipling
cautiously we retraced our steps from the lower end of the flat, and turned into the narrow mouth of the canyon.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
For he suspects from his silence that he has so over-cautiously conducted matters that he wishes to conceal his actions.'
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. Murison

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