vorsichtigste

Vorsichtigste is the superlative form of the German adjective vorsichtig, meaning careful or cautious. It denotes the highest degree of caution within a group or comparison and can function attributively before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb. For example: Der vorsichtigste Fahrer fährt langsam; Sie ist die vorsichtigste Fahrerin der Abteilung.

Declension and use

When used attributively with a definite article, vorsichtigste is declined like other adjectives: der vorsichtigste Mann, die vorsichtigste Frau, das vorsichtigste Kind; in plural: die vorsichtigsten Personen. With no definite article or a determiner that does not mark the gender or number, the strong or mixed declension applies, as in vorsichtigste Maßnahmen (plural) or ein vorsichtigster Mann (masculine singular, predicative or after a weak determiner). The noun form can also be nominalized: das Vorsichtigste meaning “the most cautious thing” or der Vorsichtigste meaning “the most cautious person.”

Adverbial use

As an adverbial superlative, the phrase am vorsichtigsten is used to describe the manner of an action: Er fährt am vorsichtigsten von allen. This form is less common in everyday speech than the attributive uses but is accepted in standard German.

Etymology and related terms

Vorsichtigste derives from vor- (before, in front of) and sichtig (related to sight or seeing). The sense combines foresight and caution. Related adjectives include vorsichtig (careful), vorsichtiger (comparative), and vorsichtsmassig (careful in a cautious sense). Synonyms include behutsam and umsicht, while antonyms would be unvorsichtig or rücksichtslos.

See also

Vorsichtig as a base term; comparisons of degree in German grammar; nominalized adjective usage.