gingerly

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.

Related to gingerly: roguishly

gin·ger·ly

(jĭn′jər-lē)

adv.

With great care or delicacy; cautiously.

adj.

Cautious; careful: with a gingerly step.

[Possibly alteration of obsolete French gensor, delicate, from Old French, comparative of gent, gentle; see gent¹.]

gin′ger·li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gingerly

(ˈdʒɪndʒəlɪ)

adv

in a cautious, reluctant, or timid manner

adj

cautious, reluctant, or timid

[C16: perhaps from Old French gensor dainty, from gent of noble birth; see gentle]

ˈgingerliness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gin•ger•ly

(ˈdʒɪn dʒər li)

adv.

1. with great care or caution; warily.

adj.

2. cautious, careful, or wary.

[1510–20; ginger-, perhaps < Middle French gensor, genzor delicate, pretty, positive use of compar. of gent gentle; see -ly]

gin′ger•li•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	gingerly - with extreme care or delicacy; "they proceeded with gingerly footwork over the jagged stones"; "the issue was handled only in a gingerly way"- W.S.White cautious - showing careful forethought; "reserved and cautious; never making swift decisions"; "a cautious driver"
Adv.	1.	gingerly - in a gingerly manner; "gingerly I raised the edge of the blanket"

gingerly

adverb

1. cautiously, carefully, reluctantly, suspiciously, tentatively, warily, hesitantly, timidly, circumspectly, cagily (informal), charily I drove gingerly past the security check points.
cautiously boldly, rashly, confidently, carelessly

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

gingerly

adjective

Trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error:

careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, forehanded, prudent, wary.

Translations

بِحَيْطَه وَحَذَر

внимателенпредпазлив

opatrně

forsigtigt

sachte

varovasti

délicatement

varlega

cauto

piesardzīgiuzmanīgi

forsiktignennsomsirlig varsom

çekine çekine

小心谨慎地

gingerly

[ˈdʒɪndʒəlɪ]

A. ADJ → cauteloso

B. ADV → con cautela

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

gingerly

[ˈdʒɪndʒə^rli] adv → avec précautionginger nut ginger snap n → gâteau m sec au gingembre

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

gingerly

adv (= carefully) step, walk, touch → vorsichtig, behutsam; pick up, handle (sth dirty) → mit spitzen Fingern; (sth cold or hot) → zaghaft

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

gingerly

[ˈdʒɪndʒəlɪ] adv → con circospezione, cautamente

gingerly

(ˈdʒindʒəli) adverb

very gently and carefully. He gingerly moved his injured foot.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Taking a deep breath he placed one foot between the sprawled legs of the beast and gingerly raised the other to plant it upon the opposite side of the tawny body.

View in context

They came forward, evidently still afraid of Montgomery, but still more afraid of my cracking red whip-lash; and after some fumbling and hesitation, some whip-cracking and shouting, they lifted him gingerly, carried him down to the beach, and went splashing into the dazzling welter of the sea.

View in context

And when we steamed slowly out of the lagoon, making our way gingerly through the opening in the reef, and then steered for the open sea, a certain melancholy fell upon me.

View in context

Her hand went out gingerly, and the growl rose in volume and key till it culminated in a snap.

View in context

He surveyed the prize; walked around it; smelt at it from a safe distance; walked around it again; grew bolder, and took a closer smell; then lifted his lip and made a gingerly snatch at it, just missing it; made another, and another; began to enjoy the diversion; subsided to his stomach with the beetle between his paws, and continued his experiments; grew weary at last, and then indifferent and absent-minded.

View in context

I stepped over him gingerly and pushed on up the hill.

View in context

Coming to the surface, I found to my joy that the hen-coop had righted itself; so now I climbed up again, but this time very slowly and gingerly; the balance was undisturbed, and I stretched myself cautiously along the bars on my stomach.

View in context

Presently from a great distance and faintly there came an answering scream, and a half-hour later the lithe form of Sheeta bounded into view where the others of the pack were clambering gingerly into the canoe.

View in context

Monty - no one at Buckomari had ever known of any other name for him - stretched out a long hand, with delicate tapering fingers, and let it rest for a moment gingerly in the thick, brown palm of his companion.

View in context

And right gingerly he crept out or his cave and descended to the ground.

View in context

A lane opening in the swirl of the current, it was a matter of seconds to drive the canoe to the spot, reach to the shoulder in the water, and draw the woman gingerly to the canoe's side.

View in context

And the Annos descended on Nalasu's clearing, a dozen of them, armed with Sniders, horse pistols, tomahawks and war clubs, walking gingerly, despite their thick sandals, because of fear of the thorns which Nalasu no longer planted.