warier; wariest
: marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness especially in detecting and escaping danger
Examples of wary in a Sentence
Great critics are sometimes wary of great authors. Eliot and Pound usually sidled past Shakespeare.
—
William Logan, New York Times Book Review, 11 Feb. 2001
Though sycamore wood was much used, pioneers were wary of the tree's fuzzy leaves, which they believed brought allergies and even consumption.
—Arthur Plotnik, The Urban Tree Book: An Uncommon Field Guide for City and Town, 2000
Modern literary novelists … wary of neat solutions and happy endings, have tended to invest their mysteries with an aura of ambiguity and to leave them unresolved.
—David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992
The store owner kept a wary eye on him.
Investors are increasingly wary about putting money into stocks.
William Logan, New York Times Book Review, 11 Feb. 2001
Though sycamore wood was much used, pioneers were wary of the tree's fuzzy leaves, which they believed brought allergies and even consumption.
—Arthur Plotnik, The Urban Tree Book: An Uncommon Field Guide for City and Town, 2000
Modern literary novelists … wary of neat solutions and happy endings, have tended to invest their mysteries with an aura of ambiguity and to leave them unresolved.
—David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992
The store owner kept a wary eye on him.
Investors are increasingly wary about putting money into stocks.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Kremlin is wary of calling for another mobilization after the fiasco of the September 2022 partial mobilization, which spooked hundreds of thousands of Russian men into fleeing the country.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo knew to be wary, mentioning Johnson during midweek remarks as a player with NFL talent.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025
The priest, a burly man with wary eyes, explained that he had been appointed to Sake in 2023, when the Wazalendo were entrenched there.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Other media companies have been wary of relying too much on traffic and revenue from a tech platform, concerned about sacrificing their direct relationship with their audience.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wary
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Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo knew to be wary, mentioning Johnson during midweek remarks as a player with NFL talent.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025
The priest, a burly man with wary eyes, explained that he had been appointed to Sake in 2023, when the Wazalendo were entrenched there.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Other media companies have been wary of relying too much on traffic and revenue from a tech platform, concerned about sacrificing their direct relationship with their audience.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wary
Cite this Entry
“Wary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wary. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wary
adjective
ˈwa(ə)r-ē 
ˈwe(ə)r-
warier; wariest
: very cautious
especially
: being on guard against danger or trickery
wary of strangers
warily
adverb
ˈwar-ə-lē,
ˈwer-
wariness
noun
ˈwar-ē-nəs,
ˈwer-
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