variants
or less commonly leary
: suspicious, wary
—often used with of
leery of strangers
She seemed a little leery of the proposal.
Examples of leery in a Sentence
They were leery of their neighbors.
Recent Examples on the Web
Troy was leery, noting disgustedly, and correctly, that law enforcement had decided this time to send a Black detective, Penelton, hoping that this would put him at ease enough to finally talk.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
At the same time, at around $80 per ounce currently, the metal hasn't experienced such rapid growth as to exclude beginners and other investors leery of overpaying, either.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
In a 2024 business profile in the Naperville Sun, Mowry was leery of the impact construction work downtown would have on business.
—Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But in an industry whose currency has historically been trust, most news brands have been leery of turning their core relationship with their readers over to unreliable LLMs.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leery
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Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
At the same time, at around $80 per ounce currently, the metal hasn't experienced such rapid growth as to exclude beginners and other investors leery of overpaying, either.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
In a 2024 business profile in the Naperville Sun, Mowry was leery of the impact construction work downtown would have on business.
—Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But in an industry whose currency has historically been trust, most news brands have been leery of turning their core relationship with their readers over to unreliable LLMs.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leery
Cite this Entry
“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leery. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
leery
adjective
: suspicious sense 2, wary
leery of strangers
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