From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcautionarycau‧tion‧ar‧y /ˈkɔːʃənəri $ ˈkɒːʃəneri/ adjective [usually before noun] WARNgiving a warning about what not to docautionary note/comment/words etc Most observers were optimistic, yet some sounded a cautionary note.cautionary tale (=the story of an event that is used to warn people) a cautionary tale about how not to buy a computer
Examples from the Corpus
cautionary• The group's latest album gives a cautionary account of chemical dependency.• With this cautionary illustration behind us we can now proceed to a more complex and interesting example.• There is one other cautionary lesson that can be drawn from the Huffington campaign and applied to the Forbes phenomenon.• Even so, a cautionary note must be sounded.• The director ended her speech on a cautionary note, when she said that next year would be even harder than this year.• In view of the preceding passages, it may be of value here to add one cautionary note.• The rise and fall of this company is a cautionary tale for anyone investing in the property market.• If anything, I felt the alcohol guideline was more cautionary than before.• Raw and powerful, black smokers look like cautionary totems of an inhospitable planet.• A cautionary word should perhaps be entered here.cautionary note/comment/words etc• In view of the preceding passages, it may be of value here to add one cautionary note.• A cautionary note, applicable to most variegated plants is the problem of reversion.• I suggest this cautionary note as a result of personal experience.• Even so, a cautionary note must be sounded.• This kind of experiment, besides sounding a cautionary note, needs repeating, says Smith.• While many of the subsequent developments are to be welcomed, certain cautionary notes should be sounded.• Even so, these cautionary comments should not dislodge us from the main point. 