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What are some synonyms of caveat? Interestingly, I wasn't able to find any in the four (approximately) thesauruses which I searched. I'm trying to use it in the following context:

The emperor did further women's rights, however, his new laws contained certain ___ (caveats) which favored men.

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    A caveat is a warning, not an exception. Maybe you're just looking for the -right- word, not a synonym?
    – Mitch
    Nov 18, 2011 at 15:04
  • As noted in my comment under Unreason's answer, it's possible that caveats is appropriate, but that the problem lies in which favored men.
    – John Y
    Nov 18, 2011 at 22:40

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First, I don't think you are using caveat correctly, if we agree that it means:

a warning of the limits of a particular agreement or statement

then your example is awkward and ambiguous.

The emperor did further women's rights, however, his new laws contained certain warnings of the limits which favored men.

So, it is not really clear what you want there. I will propose a very common word as a substitute in this specific sentence

The emperor did further women's rights, however, his new laws contained certain limitations which favored men.

(stipulations, clauses and conditions would work, too)

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  • That's exactly what I was looking for. I was however, unaware that caveat was not a valid word for what I was looking for. Can you not say, "You may have this privilege but there is one caveat; XYZ"?
    – Daniel G. Wilson
    Nov 18, 2011 at 21:17
  • @XenElement: The example sentence in your comment is not as awkward as the example sentence in the text of your question. In your comment, you're saying "beware of the limitations of this privilege". In your question, it's hard to tell exactly what you're saying, because a "law favoring women, with limitations" is not the same thing as a "law favoring men". Even the limitations themselves would not usually be considered to favor men; they just serve to limit how much the law favors women.
    – John Y
    Nov 18, 2011 at 22:35
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Also consider provisos, provisions[1], conditions, clauses[2], exceptions, and loopholes[3].

[1] "(law) A clause in a legal instrument, a law, etc., providing for a particular matter; stipulation; proviso."
[2] "(law) A separate part of a contract, a will or another legal document."
[3] "A method of escape, especially an ambiguity or exception in a rule that can be exploited in order to avoid its effect."

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    Special legal contexts aside, I'd say proviso is usually an exact synonym for caveat, in both meaning and style.
    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 18, 2011 at 14:00
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How about qualification? From Merriam-Webster:

1: a restriction in meaning or application : a limiting modification
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