wary
Americanadjective
-
warier,
comparative
-
wariest
superlative
-
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.
adjective
-
watchful, cautious, or alert
-
characterized by caution or watchfulness
Synonym Usage
See careful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of wary
Explanation
Describe yourself as wary if you don't quite trust someone or something and want to proceed with caution. Be wary of risky things like wild mushrooms and Internet deals! You can trace wary through Old English back to Old High German giwar "aware, attentive." If you keep a wary eye on something, you are attentive for signs that it is becoming dangerous. Likewise, if you give someone a wary glance, your face conveys the suspicion and caution you feel. When you are wary of driving alone at night or making promises, you fear something bad might happen if you do these things.
Vocabulary lists containing wary
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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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.
See Examples For:
She says while they have message boards there too, they wouldn't be focused on solidarity with victims of one particular incident, perhaps because authorities are wary of any outpouring of public sentiment.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The result has left many in Michigan’s Jewish community wary of El-Sayed and looking for outreach from him and his campaign to assuage their concerns.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Consumers have cut back on salad purchases, as the cyclospora outbreak keeps them wary of lettuce.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
That history is one reason Jewish groups are often wary of demographic cataloging by any government office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
“But I’d be wary of telling the full tale here. Stories are powerful magic. You’ll find that out soon enough. Best only summarize.”
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
In other words, drawn out once with the prospect of a groundbreaking deal that never materialized, a warier Kim may not be so quick to do so again.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
The strengthening of Ukrainian air defenses with Western weaponry may partly explain the decrease, with shoot-downs seemingly making Russian pilots warier.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
Li's call came as the European bloc grows warier of the risks of engaging China, defined as its partner, competitor and "systemic rival" since 2019.
From Reuters ● Sep. 10, 2023
Far warier — though less cautious — on the world stage than in 1941.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 16, 2022
Since leaving the warren of the snares they had become warier, shrewder, a tenacious band who understood each other and worked together.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Germans are among the wariest in Europe of nuclear energy.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2022
Naturally, given the nature of COVID-19 spread, choral groups are the wariest about returning to concertizing, but this group is still on board for its Oct.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2021
Franklin, who is the wariest of personalities, deflected and delayed, even as some of her closest friends encouraged her to settle the deal and enjoy the inevitable attention that would come with “Amazing Grace.”
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 4, 2016
Another is that even the wariest trout seem to throw caution to the wind when these insects appear, gorging indiscriminately.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2013
At first, Omakayas tried to think she had won, that she had outwitted Old Tallow and made her impatient, as even the wariest animals often failed to do.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
Definitions 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.
