wary

1 of 2

adjective

ˈwer-ē 

warier; wariest

: marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness especially in detecting and escaping danger

warily

ˈwer-ə-lē 

adverb

wariness

ˈwer-ē-nəs 

noun

wariness

2 of 2

noun

war·​i·​ness -rēnə̇s 

-rin-

plural -es

: the quality or state of being wary : watchfulness, caution

Synonyms of wary

Adjective

• cautious
• careful
• alert

Choose the Right Synonym for wary

cautious, circumspect, wary, chary mean prudently watchful and discreet in the face of danger or risk.

cautious implies the exercise of forethought usually prompted by fear of danger.

a cautious driver

circumspect suggests less fear and stresses the surveying of all possible consequences before acting or deciding.

circumspect in his business dealings

wary emphasizes suspiciousness and alertness in watching for danger and cunning in escaping it.

keeps a wary eye on the competition

chary implies a cautious reluctance to give, act, or speak freely.

chary of signing papers without having read them first

Examples of wary in a Sentence

Adjective

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Mykola Murskyj, senior adviser on policy and strategy at the nonprofit organization Razom for Ukraine, told the Washington Examiner that Zelensky isn’t just arbitrarily clinging to power — the entire country is wary of voting during wartime. — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026

Generally, experts are wary of universally screening men for low testosterone because testosterone measurements can be highly variable—and unhelpful. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026

Netflix remains profitable, with more than 325 million subscribers, but investors are wary as its shares fall and expansion into games and other formats delivers mixed results. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Many also lack the internal skills to deploy and govern AI at scale, while experienced practitioners are understandably wary of tools that don’t reflect how their organization actually works. — Balaji Sreenivasan, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

ware entry 2 + -y entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wary

• aerie
• airy
• arie
• barre
• cherry
• clary
• dairy
• eyrie
• faerie
• faery
• fairy
• ferry

Kids 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

ˈwar-ə-lē, 

ˈwer-

adverb

wariness

ˈwar-ē-nəs, 

ˈwer-

noun