October 03, 2012
circumspect (adjective)
\SER-kum-spekt\ Hear it!
What does it mean?
: careful to consider everything that might happen
How do you use it?
Jill is a very circumspect person, so she did some serious thinking before she agreed to help coordinate planning for the junior prom.
Are you a word wiz?

"Circumspect" can be traced back to a Latin word which means "to look around." We'll ask you to look around for a synonym of "circumspect" in the list below. Which word do you think is that synonym?

We hope you looked carefully and picked answer A. If you are "circumspect" or "cautious," you look before you leap. But "cautious" and "circumspect" each put a unique spin on being careful in the face of risk or danger. When you are "cautious," you recognize that the situation facing you may involve danger, and your actions are likely influenced by fear of that danger. When you are "circumspect," you probably aren't afraid; you just realize that a situation has lots of possible consequences and you carefully look them all over before deciding what to do next.
Archive RSS Feed