cautionary.

Intended to warn someone about a danger, mistake, or possible harmful result.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• cautionary tale
• cautionary note

On the page

The failed project provides a cautionary tale about expanding too quickly.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Normally non-gradable; no ordinary comparative or superlative. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: qualification. Commonness: moderately common.