Synonyms

wary

American

[wair-ee] / ˈwɛər i /

adjective

warier, wariest

watchful; being on one's guard against danger.

Synonyms:

prudent, circumspect, guarded, vigilant, alert
arising from or characterized by caution.

to give someone a wary look.

wary British

/ ˈwɛərɪ /

adjective

watchful, cautious, or alert
characterized by caution or watchfulness

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See careful.

Other Word Forms

overwary adjective
warily adverb
wariness noun

Etymology

Origin of wary

First recorded in 1545–55; ware ² + -y ¹

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.

They will be extremely wary of Zimbabwe, whose colourful band of travelling supporters have had plenty to cheer so far.

From Barron's

Many in Syria remain wary of Sharaa, given that the jihadist group he once led started out as an Al-Qaeda affiliate and many of its former members are in his government.

From Barron's

The breakneck pace of AI innovation—like recent updates around Anthropic’s Claude—is also making potential customers wary of sales commitments.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, they will be wary of what happened to Liverpool last season after Arne Slot's side finished top of the league, only to then run into PSG at the last-16 phase and be eliminated.

From BBC

They are wary of becoming dependent on the U.S. or China for a technology that could have profound implications for their economy and national security.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023