wary
adjective
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Definition of wary
: marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness especially in detecting and escaping danger
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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
The official announcement was delayed as authorities needed more time to gain understanding from some local governments that remained wary of missile threats, officials said. — Fox News, "Japan to scrap evacuation drills for NKorean missile threat," 22 June 2018 Although Ren spoke up in 2013 to deny the allegations, US intelligence agencies remain extremely wary of Huawei. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "Why Facebook’s secret data-sharing deal with Huawei has the US concerned," 8 June 2018 For Trump, the cancellation amounts to a vanished opportunity to secure a historic foreign policy accomplishment midway through his first term as President, a prospect that enamored him even as top officials remained wary. — Kevin Liptak And Jeremy Diamond, CNN, "From grin to grim: Inside the Trump-Kim summit collapse," 24 May 2018 Still, despite widespread acknowledgment of the city’s problem, critics remain wary of the way Levine’s administration jumped into construction without having resolved all the particulars. — David Smiley, Alex Harris And Joey Flechas, miamiherald, "Levine is campaigning on climate change. But his sea-rise legacy is complicated. | Miami Herald," 24 May 2018 Only recently has the company been able to push out a significant number of cars per week, although investors have remained wary of Musk's often overly optimistic projections. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Elon Musk tweet-announces a $78,000 performance Model 3 with all-wheel drive," 20 May 2018 The Orioles have laid out a timetable for second baseman Jonathan Schoop’s return from his oblique injury, but remain wary of letting him get too far ahead of himself. — Peter Schmuck, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles notes: Tim Beckham glad to resolve long-lingering groin injury with surgery," 28 Apr. 2018 But other Democratic incumbents need to be wary as well, including Senator Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat who is in a difficult re-election fight with Rick Scott, the Republican governor. — Carl Hulse, New York Times, "‘It’s a Terrible Vote’: Red-State Democrats Face an Agonizing Supreme Court Choice," 7 July 2018 Those making England clear favourites for the game in Samara should be wary, for this is a Sweden team that fears nobody. — SI.com, "Warning Signs: How Sweden's Humble History Makers Survived and Thrived in the Post-Zlatan Era," 6 July 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
28 Oct 2018
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
: not having or showing complete trust in someone or something that could be dangerous or cause trouble
See the full definition for wary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
wary
adjective
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Kids Definition of wary
: very cautious The baker's worries about ogres and bandits I thought exaggerated … However, I was wary of strangers.— Gail Carson Levine, Ella Enchanted
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