top definitions
related content
examples
british

wary

[ wair-ee ]

/ ˈwɛər i /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, war·i·er, war·i·est.

watchful; being on one's guard against danger.

arising from or characterized by caution: to give someone a wary look.

Origin of wary

First recorded in 1545–55; ware² + -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR wary

1 alert, vigilant, guarded, circumspect, prudent.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wary ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for wary

1. See careful.

OTHER WORDS FROM wary

war·i·ly, adverb war·i·ness, noun o·ver·war·y, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wary

wary weary leery

Words nearby wary

warts and all, warty, warty dyskeratoma, warwick, warwickshire, wary, warzone, was, wasabi, wasatch range, wash

Example sentences from the Web for wary

But after a troubled history with alcohol, some tribes are wary.

Tribes to U.S. Government: Take Your Weed and Shove It |Abby Haglage |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Moran does so with fearless honesty and bravura, but admits she was wary about oversharing when she wrote How to Be a Woman.

Join Caitlin Moran’s Riotous Feminist Revolution |Lizzie Crocker |September 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When members of the International Commission arrived to help, the community was wary.

1976 Vs. Today: Ebola’s Terrifying Evolution |Abby Haglage |September 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Consumers have been schooled to be wary of companies that offer them valuable products for free along with substantial rebates.

Panel Discussion |The Daily Beast |September 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Clients who are wary of online transactions are liable to see escorts with print ads as less likely to cheat or scam them.

The Importance of Adult Classifieds |Hazlitt |September 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Instead of a sensible and wary man, we call him a disguised and subtle fellow.

The Works of Horace |Horace
Wary stepping, too, it will require to enable us to succeed in realizing either of these objects.

A Letter from Major Robert Carmichael-Smyth to His Friend, the Author of 'The Clockmaker' |Robert Carmichael-Smyth
Her morality, training, code of life and all sat up like a wary censor and surveyed the scene.

Gargoyles |Ben Hecht
Therefor we must be wary of the old men who tell us that we shall soon tire of the music of Puccini because it is fashionable.

The Merry-Go-Round |Carl Van Vechten
He turned a hard, wary eye on them, just like all the other Kakisas.

The Woman from Outside |Hulbert Footner

British Dictionary definitions for wary

wary

/ (ˈwɛərɪ) /

adjective warier or wariest

watchful, cautious, or alert

characterized by caution or watchfulness

Derived forms of wary

warily, adverb wariness, noun

Word Origin for wary

C16: from ware ² + -y 1