MEANING
With great care or caution, often to avoid pain, damage, or an unwelcome consequence.
Use it for
Testing an uncertain surface, handling something fragile, approaching a sensitive subject carefully.
Words that belong together
- step gingerly
- handle gingerly
- raise a subject gingerly
On the page
She stepped gingerly onto the unstable board.
He handled the cracked bowl gingerly.
The interviewer raised the sensitive subject gingerly.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- gingerly
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. Forms: Invariable adverb. Also an adjective with the same cautious-manner meaning. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.
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