as in wary
having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble
chary investors who weren't burned by the dot-com bust
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Recent Examples of chary
With that, many corporate leaders are chary about overreacting to the workforce disruption concern.
—
Michael Peregrine, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
He’s not as guarded or chary as he was immersed in the Boston Baseball Experience, where one wrong step or word can spark furor.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
Beautiful is a strong word, and artists, critics and scholars are chary of it.
—Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2021
Knox was a bit chary on specifics, but no athlete allows that many injections without asking questions.
—Richard A. Lovett, Outside Online, 1 Sep. 2021
With a writer so chary of detail, the reader rushes to fill in.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
That tone is most obvious in the author’s chary regard of his icon.
—John Semley, The New Republic, 26 May 2021
A lot of people were mildly chary of its prospects.
—The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021
Evangelical Christians, traditionally chary of getting involved in partisan politics.
—Rick Perlstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020
Michael Peregrine, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
He’s not as guarded or chary as he was immersed in the Boston Baseball Experience, where one wrong step or word can spark furor.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
Beautiful is a strong word, and artists, critics and scholars are chary of it.
—Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2021
Knox was a bit chary on specifics, but no athlete allows that many injections without asking questions.
—Richard A. Lovett, Outside Online, 1 Sep. 2021
With a writer so chary of detail, the reader rushes to fill in.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
That tone is most obvious in the author’s chary regard of his icon.
—John Semley, The New Republic, 26 May 2021
A lot of people were mildly chary of its prospects.
—The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021
Evangelical Christians, traditionally chary of getting involved in partisan politics.
—Rick Perlstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chary
Adjective
-
Other than in the Second Circuit, the federal courts of appeals generally have interpreted the Confrontation Clause to require face-to-face cross examination, and counsel should be wary of giving up that important right.—
Robert Anello,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
For decades, educators have been wary of the decline in critical thinking and its impact on undermining the very purpose of education.—
Sixteen Ramos,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The duo have been cautious in their classification, allowing for the possibility that a torus of material could be behind the observations.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But being cautious doesn’t mean ignoring the risks.—
Matt Emma,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But Eliasen is careful not to let scope creep derail initial implementations.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chary. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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