cautionary
/ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/adjective
cautionary is spelled C-A-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cautionary means “Serving to caution or warn; admonitory” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cautionary?
| Letters | 10: C-A-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cautionary?
Cautionary appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cautionary?
- UK /ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/
- UK /ˈkɔːʃənɹi/
- US /ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/
Cautionary has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cautionary.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-cautionary.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cautionary
- more cautionary comparative
- most cautionary superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cautionary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Serving to caution or warn; admonitory
Most parents were optimistic, but others sounded a cautionary note.
- 2
Serving to ward off; preventive
- 3
obsoleteHeld as security or hostage
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cautionary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense serving to caution or warn – see also admonitory:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | precautorio, cautelar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cautionary come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin cautiōnārius.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).