Synonyms of leery

leery

adjective

variants also leary

as in wary

feeling or showing a lack of trust in someone or something

a leery attitude

She seemed a little leery about the proposal.

They were leery of their neighbors.

Related Words

• wary
• cautious
• skeptical
• careful
• suspicious
• puzzled
• hesitant
• unsure
• watchful
• doubting
• paranoid
• guarded
• distrustful
• curious
• questioning
• gun-shy
• mistrustful
• incredulous
• show-me
• disbelieving
• cynical
• unbelieving
• suspecting
• unsettled
• quizzical
• negativistic
• experienced
• uncertain
• critical
• inquisitive
• unconvinced
• worldly
• nosy
• knowing
• undecided
• worldly-wise
• sophisticated
• inquiring
• undetermined
• snoopy

Dissimilar Words

• naive
• unsophisticated
• confident
• sure
• certain
• green
• positive
• simple
• ingenuous
• innocent
• unknowing
• wide-eyed
• inexperienced
• unworldly
• simpleminded
• impractical
• idealistic
• raw
• childlike
• callow
• careless
• deceived
• trusting
• unsuspecting
• uncritical
• gullible
• credulous
• heedless
• unwary
• unsuspicious
• trustful
• duped
• unquestioning
• tricked
• beguiled
• gulled

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of leery

One Big 12 personnel director, who already was skeptical of Sorsby elevating his game at Tech, was even more leery after the gambling scandal about how the QB would manage it all this fall. — Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 16 June 2026

Scores of businesses and shops in downtown Geneva boarded up their storefronts with wooden panels as a precaution, leery of upheaval that left a trail of damage in the city during a similar summit in Evian in 2003. — Jamey Keaten, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2026

At the same time, polls have shown that Americans have become increasingly leery of artificial intelligence, fearing its effects on jobs and the environment. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026

In the end, the legal team was leery of making the decision by itself, and solicited the help of the group of parent activists who had been advising it on strategy. — Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, 28 May 2026