Gingerly
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒəli/ · Part of speech adverb
Quick meaning: Gingerly is an adverb meaning In a cautious and delicate manner; (very) carefully or cautiously.
Meaning
In a cautious and delicate manner; (very) carefully or cautiously.
More Meanings
- Often of movements: very careful, cautious, or delicate.
- (obsolete) Chiefly of dancing or walking: done with small, dainty steps; daintily; also, with excessive delicacy; affectedly, mincingly.
- (obsolete) Often of a person or the way they move: dainty, delicate; also, excessively delicate; affected, mincing.
Example Sentences
He placed the glass jar gingerly on the concrete step.
Prithee, gentle officer, / Handle me gingerly, or I fall to pieces, / Before I can plead mine.
Then of a sudden the rope was still—the stone had caught at the very edge. Gingerly the ape-man clambered up the frail rope.
My mother was going very gingerly in the dark along the paſſage which led to the parlour, as my uncle Toby pronounced the word wife.
Word Forms
- gingerlier
- gingerliest
Synonyms for gingerly
Depending on context, synonyms include ginger, tentatively, warily, gingerish, tentative, wary.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include cautious, warily, cautiously, carefully, ginger, precautiously.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.