wariness
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wariness
Explanation
Wariness is the characteristic of being very cautious or careful. It's smart to have certain amount of wariness when you approach a dog you don't know. Your wariness might cause you not to trust people when you first meet them — reserving judgment or waiting to see if they turn out to be reliable can both be evidence of wariness. Sometimes wariness is entirely appropriate, like when you move through a haunted house or handle a snake. The noun wariness comes from the adjective wary, or "cautious or careful," with its Old English root, wær, "prudent, aware, or alert."
Vocabulary lists containing wariness
"Laws are not the only way to boost immunization”: an editorial from Nature
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Every Day
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So he may have been caught by surprise when the news of the plan was met in the evangelical world with ambivalence, wariness, and, occasionally, alarm.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
She was a true believer, and colleagues reportedly regarded her with some wariness precisely because of it.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
They said that repeated feeding can lead the deer to "lose their natural wariness of people and seek out food from visitors," which puts the animals and people in danger.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Consumer confidence in Germany weakened a little after oil prices rose this month, and with the conflict in the Middle East continuing to escalate, households’ wariness about spending may harden in the months ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
For the first time, she saw some awe mingled in with the suspicion and wariness.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
