wary

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“
This had had a curious effect on him, intensifying his already acute perceptions, and making him feel both brave and bold as well as wary--wary Timmy Tosswill always was And now he was eagerly debating within himself whether he could carry out an experiment he had an eager wish to try.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective On guard; watchful: taught to be wary of strangers.
  2. adjective Characterized by caution: a wary glance at the black clouds.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples (50)

  • He became as the jungle hunters about him--wary, moving only in darkness, pausing to listen often. —  017 - The Thousand Headed Man
  • Be wary, therefore, when some demand public tolerance for whatever their private indulgences are! —  Latest Articles
  • 'Shrinking turnover suggests people are increasingly wary, and without heavy turnover it will be hard for the index to break above strong resistance,' said Huatai Securities analyst Chen Jinren. —  Forbes.com: News
  • Janu-wary: Even the governor got laid off - Bloomington Pantagraph —  The Capitol Fax Blog
  • The older four - and five-year-old age classes usually are much more wary, and there just aren't as many in the population. —  The Earth Times Online Newspaper
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This word has been looked up 131 times.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

cautious ·  watchful ·  suspicious ·  uneasy ·  attentive ·  anxious ·  apprehensive ·  alert ·  reluctant ·  shy ·  resolute ·  crafty
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English ware, from Old English wær; see wer-3 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. An extended form of ware (from ware + -y), perhaps orig. due to misreading the adverb warely as a trisyllable.
 

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/ˈweɪri/
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