care ‧ ful S1 W2 /ˈkeəf ə l $ ˈker-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ care , ↑ carer ; adjective : ↑ careful ≠ ↑ careless , ↑ caring ≠ UNCARING ; verb : ↑ care ; adverb : ↑ carefully ≠ ↑ carelessly ]
1 . (be) careful! spoken used to tell someone to think about what they are doing so that something bad does not happen:
Be careful – the floor’s slippery.
2 . trying very hard to avoid doing anything wrong or to avoid damaging or losing something OPP careless :
a careful driver
careful to do something
Be careful to dispose of your litter properly.
careful with
He was being very careful with the coffee so as not to spill it.
careful who/what/how etc
I’ll be more careful what I say in the future.
careful about
Mara was careful about what she ate.
careful (that)
We were very careful that he didn’t find out.
3 . paying a lot of attention to details, so that something is done correctly and thoroughly:
Any school trip requires careful planning.
careful consideration/attention/thought
Careful consideration has been given to all applications.
careful analysis/examination/study etc
careful analysis of the data
4 . careful with money not spending more money than you need to
5 . you can’t be too careful spoken used to say that you should do everything you can to avoid problems or danger
—carefulness noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ careful trying to avoid mistakes and do everything correctly by paying a lot of attention to details:
Try to be more careful with your punctuation.
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A careful inspection showed cracks in the foundation of the building.
▪ methodical always doing things in a careful and well-organized way:
He is very methodical in his work and likes to plan everything in advance.
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This time the researchers used a more methodical approach to the problem.
▪ thorough /ˈθʌrə $ ˈθʌroʊ, ˈθʌrə/ careful to examine or deal with every part of something, so that you do not miss anything important:
There will be a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death.
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Our mechanics will check everything – they’re very thorough.
▪ meticulous very careful about every small detail in order to make sure everything is done correctly:
She keeps meticulous records of the students’ progress.
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He was meticulous about keeping the place clean and tidy.
▪ systematic using a fixed plan in a careful and well-organized way in order to do everything that you should:
a systematic review of the scientific evidence
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We need a systematic way to evaluate employees.
▪ painstaking using a lot of time and effort to do something in a very careful and thorough way:
The book is the result of ten years of painstaking research.
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They began the long and painstaking task of translating his work into English.