cautionary

English

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cautionary

/ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/ UK
/ˈkɔːʃənɹi/ UK
/ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/ US
/ˈkɑ.ʃəˌnɛɹ.i/ Atlantic Canada, US, cot caught merger
/ˈkoː.ʃə.nə.ɹi/ Australia, New Zealand
/ˈkoː.ʃən.ɹi/ Australia, New Zealand

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Medieval Latin cautiōnārius.

adjective more cautionary · most cautionary

Serving to caution or warn; admonitory Most parents were optimistic, but others sounded a cautionary note.
Serving to ward off; preventive
obsolete Held as security or hostage

Translations

Every language

adj serving to caution or warn — see also admonitory

Español	precautorio, cautelar

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Cite this

MLA

"cautionary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cautionary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cautionary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cautionary

Chicago

"cautionary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cautionary.

BibTeX

@misc{cautionary_2026,
  title = {cautionary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cautionary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}