wary
adjective
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Definition of wary
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Other Words from wary
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adverb
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for wary
Synonyms
alert, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, conservative, considerate, gingerly, guarded, heedful, safe
Antonyms
careless, heedless, incautious, unguarded, unmindful, unsafe, unwary
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Examples of wary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Be wary of anyone who pushes you to lie to or hide things from your partner. — Terri Huggins Hart, Good Housekeeping, "10 Brilliant Couples Therapy Hacks That Will Help Strengthen Any Relationship," 5 Apr. 2019 His favorable numbers are especially noteworthy in a region that has long been wary of American intrusion. ... — Santiago Pérez, WSJ, "Trump, Unpopular Elsewhere, Has Lots of Fans in Venezuela," 6 Mar. 2019 These experiences may be anomalies but Solis says consumers are becoming wary. — Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, "Facebook has 'no plans' to listen in on your conversations (for now), but the creepy stories mount," 23 June 2018 Many legislators have become wary of approving new taxes, fearing a backlash. — Dale Kasler And Adam Ashton, sacbee, "California drinking water tax dies in budget compromise," 8 June 2018 Trade growth is outpacing economic growth in a throwback to the time before the financial crisis, but the International Monetary Fund is growing wary of protectionist threats. — Andrew Mayeda, Bloomberg.com, "Turbulent Week for Trump's Trade Tactics Puts the World on Edge," 24 May 2018 The Office of Permits & Safety is wary of novice parade planners, and rightfully so. — Doug Maccash, NOLA.com, "BUKU Fest 2019 is scheduled for March 22-23," 1 May 2018 And that’s enough to make health professionals wary. — Julia Belluz, Vox, "More pregnant women are using marijuana. We don’t know if that’s safe.," 20 Nov. 2018 More important, Trump’s sanctions make Western oil companies broadly wary to invest in Russia, said Victoria Herrmann, president of the The Arctic Institute, a think tank. — Emily Atkin, The New Republic, "Trump, Putin, and the Race for Arctic Oil," 25 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
'Weary' and 'Wary': Use With Caution
'Weary' and 'Wary': Use With Caution
Beware of the difference.
Statistics for wary
Last Updated
15 Apr 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for wary
The first known use of wary was in the 15th century
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More Definitions for wary
wary
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of wary
See the full definition for wary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
wary
adjective
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Kids Definition of wary
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