Dictionary

incaution en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ɪnˈkɔːʃən/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English caution English incaution From in- + caution.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) A lack of caution.
   • Little did the members of the expedition, little did the cheering spectators on that exciting day divine the strange neglects, the strange incautions, and the consequent disasters and deaths […] 1865, William Howitt, The History of Discovery in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand:
   • It always felt as though Hain's career, which began so powerfully with his youthful campaigning against apartheid, was going to come unstuck, but through political incaution, not financial incompetence. 2008 January 24, “The Maverick Insider”, in The Guardian:
   • Lest through incaution failing, thou mayst be / A joy to others, a reproach to me. 1720, Alexander Pope, translating Homer, The Iliad, Book 23, Adamant 2000, p. 473

Forms

Relateds

incautious