in a very careful or cautious way
Origin of gingerly
altered (after ginger) from uncertain or unknown; perhaps Old French genzor, comparative of gent, delicate (see gent) + -ly very careful; cautious
adverb
Gingerly is defined as something done carefully and cautiously.
When you carefully place an expensive vase down on a table, this is an example of putting the vase down gingerly.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"gingerly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY>.
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gingerly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY
gingerly
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"gingerly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY>.
APA Style
gingerly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY
gingerly
adverb
With great care or delicacy; cautiously.
adjective
Cautious; careful: with a gingerly step.
Origin of gingerly
Possibly alteration of obsolete French gensor delicate from Old French comparative of gent gentle ; see gent 1.Related Forms:
- gin′ger·li·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"gingerly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY>.
APA Style
gingerly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY
Adverb
(comparative more gingerly, superlative most gingerly)
Anagrams
Origin
(1510) Maybe from Old French gensor, comparative of gent (“nice, kind, pretty”), from Latin gentius (“well-born”)
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"gingerly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY>.
APA Style
gingerly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GINGERLY
Sentence Examples
- Lisa gingerly settled her body on the couch.
- She gingerly untangled herself from some thorny vines and tried to stand.
- Rob walked gingerly across the rocks, wincing.
- Megan gingerly accepted the tool, gripping the smooth wooden handle with both hands.
- He quickened his step and his breath came in spurts as he gingerly climbed the stairs toward their rooms.
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WORDS NEAR gingerly IN THE DICTIONARY
- gingerly
- gingerish
- gingerism
- gingerlike