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easure or step taken in a course of business; a transaction; as, an illegal proceeding; a cautious or a violent proceeding. The proceedings of the high commission. Macaulay.

ng wants and making provision to supply them; prudent in preparing for future exigencies; cautious; economical; -- sometimes followed by of; as, aprovident man; an animal provident of the future. And of our good and of our dignity, How provident he is. Milton.

Restrained from freedom in words or actions; backward, or cautious, in communicating one's thoughts and feelings; not free or frank. To all obliging, yet reserved to all. Walsh. Nothing reserved or sullen was to see. Dryden. -- Re*serv"ed*ly (r, adv. -- Re*serv"ed*ness, n.

Submissive; yielding; not disposed to resist or murmur. A firm, yet cautious mind; Sincere, thought prudent; constant, yet resigned. Pope.

Careful; cautious; exact; nice; as, scrupulous abstinence from labor; scrupulous performance of duties.

Overconfident; incautious; careless; -- in a bad sense. Macaulay.

Cautious; wary; suspicious. I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines. Boyle. Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors. Sir H. Wotton. To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.

Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense. Be ye sly as serpents, and simple as doves. Wyclif (Matt. x. 16). Whom graver age And long experience hath made wise and sly. Fairfax.

To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner; -- sometimes used with a reflexive pronoun. Shak. Into the chamber he stalked him full still. Chaucer. [Bertran] stalks close behind her, like a witch's fiend, Pressing to be employed. Dryden.

A hunting for game in a quiet and cautious manner, or under cover; stalking; hence, colloquially, the pursuit of any object quietly and cautiously. -- Still"-hunt`er, n. -- Still"-hunt`ing, n. [U.S.]

eart, to gain confidence or courage; to be encouraged. -- To take heed, to be careful or cautious. "Take heed what doom against yourself you give." Dryden. -- To take heed to, to attend with care, as, take heed to thy ways. -- To take hold of, to seize; to fix on. -- To take horse, to mount and ride a horse. -- To…

To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a cautious step. Ye that . . . stately tread, or lowly creep. Milton.

Incautious. [Obs.]

Incautious; precipitate; heedless. [Obs.] Milton.

Not vigilant against danger; not wary or cautious; unguarded; precipitate; heedless; careless.

A ware; taking notice; hence, wary; cautious; on one's guard. See Beware. [Obs.] She was ware and knew it bet [better] than he. Chaucer. Of whom be thou ware also. 2. Tim. iv. 15. He is ware enough; he is wily and circumspect for stirring up any sedition. Latimer. The only good that grows of passed fear Is to be wise,…

Wary; watchful; cautious. [Obs.]

Wariness; cautiousness. [Obs.] "Full of warefulness." Sir P. Sidney.

Unwary; incautious; unheeding; careless; unaware. [Obs.] And wareless of the evil That by themselves unto themselves is wrought. Spenser.

Cautiously; warily. [Obs.] They bound him hand and foot with iron chains, And with continual watch did warely keep. Spenser.