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V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary


circumspect

adjective

Definition: unwilling to act without first weighing the risks or consequences

Synonyms: prudent, cautious, watchful, guarded, wary

Antonyms: audacious, foolhardy, careless, heedless

Tips: Circumspect is derived from the Latin circumspicere, “to look around,” from specere, “to look.” Think of looking around (inspecting) suspiciously and carefully before making a decision or taking action. For a memory trick, note how circumspect sounds "like search and inspect." Before making a decision, a person who is circumspect will "search and inspect" carefully. Circumspect is synonymous with prudent and wary. See a detailed analysis at prudent and at wary.

Usage Examples:

Investors should be very circumspect if the top executives of a public corporation suddenly begin selling large amounts of their company stock. (wary, watchful)

They have good reason to be circumspect about moving forward with this project, as there are so many potential financial pitfalls. (cautious, guarded)

I once lost a lot of money on a similar deal, so this time, I was more circumspect. (cautious, prudent)

As a public speaker, she is very circumspect about being too opinionated in her presentations, since she never wants to offend anyone. (cautious, wary)


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