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
After a few close calls during their escape, Lisbon was leery of Ottawa abolitionist John Hossack, who offered to feed and house them.
—
Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 12 Sep. 2023
But the White House has been leery of involvement in the case, which is politically fraught.
—Carol Rosenberg, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
People were leery of socializing with those against whom Disney had a grudge — most of all Babbitt, who left the studio for good in 1947.
—Francine Uenuma, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2023
Lenders are pulling back, leery of borrowers who have struggled with high inflation and a surge in interest rates the last couple of years, and have piled on debt to make ends meet.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 19 July 2023
For that reason, studios may be leery to accept AI-reliant pitches and scripts that could leave them open to lawsuits.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 May 2023
But now, in part because there's no longer a surefire Hall of Famer under center in Green Bay, the Bears are at least a step behind in their rebuild and football experts were leery of the Vikings' legitimacy last season, the Lions are the last team standing.
—Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press, 20 July 2023
Others were leery of talking on the record because Feinstein’s failing health has also been such a fraught topic.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2023
And many—probably most—prospective passengers will be leery of flying on an aircraft without a human pilot on board.
—Kamesh Namuduri, IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 2023
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Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 12 Sep. 2023
But the White House has been leery of involvement in the case, which is politically fraught.
—Carol Rosenberg, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
People were leery of socializing with those against whom Disney had a grudge — most of all Babbitt, who left the studio for good in 1947.
—Francine Uenuma, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2023
Lenders are pulling back, leery of borrowers who have struggled with high inflation and a surge in interest rates the last couple of years, and have piled on debt to make ends meet.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 19 July 2023
For that reason, studios may be leery to accept AI-reliant pitches and scripts that could leave them open to lawsuits.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 May 2023
But now, in part because there's no longer a surefire Hall of Famer under center in Green Bay, the Bears are at least a step behind in their rebuild and football experts were leery of the Vikings' legitimacy last season, the Lions are the last team standing.
—Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press, 20 July 2023
Others were leery of talking on the record because Feinstein’s failing health has also been such a fraught topic.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2023
And many—probably most—prospective passengers will be leery of flying on an aircraft without a human pilot on board.
—Kamesh Namuduri, IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1718, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near leery
Cite this Entry
“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leery. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
leery
adjective
: suspicious sense 2, wary
leery of strangers
More from Merriam-Webster on leery
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for leery
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