[care.ful] adj care.ful.ler ; care.ful.lest (bef. 12c) 1 archaic a: solicitous, anxious b: filling with care or solicitude
2: exercising or taking care 3 a: marked by attentive concern and solicitude b: marked by wary caution or prudence "be very ~ with knives" c: marked by painstaking effort to avoid errors or omissions--often used with of or an infinitive "~ of money" "~ to adjust the machine" -- care.ful.ly adv -- care.ful.ness n syn careful, meticulous, scrupulous, punctilious mean showing close attention to detail. careful implies attentiveness and cautiousness in avoiding mistakes "a careful worker". meticulous may imply either commendable extreme carefulness or a hampering finicky caution over small points "meticulous scholarship". scrupulous applies to what is proper or fitting or ethical "scrupulous honesty". punctilious implies minute, even excessive attention to fine points "punctilious observance of ritual".