wary

American  

[wair-ee] / ˈwɛər i /

adjective

warier, wariest

1. watchful; being on one's guard against danger.

   Synonyms:

   prudent, circumspect, guarded, vigilant, alert

2. arising from or characterized by caution.

   to give someone a wary look.

---

wary British  

/ ˈwɛərɪ /

adjective

1. watchful, cautious, or alert

2. characterized by caution or watchfulness

---

Related Words

See careful.

Other Word Forms

• overwary adjective
• warily adverb
• wariness noun

Etymology

Origin of wary

First recorded in 1545–55; ware ² + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Boosting production would require tens of billions of dollars of investment from U.S. companies, who may be wary of opening their pocket books amid low oil prices.

From The Wall Street Journal

So far, investors have proven wary, and that has weighed on the stock.

From MarketWatch

In 2025, consumers remained wary about spending too much on restaurants as they dealt with higher prices elsewhere.

From MarketWatch

The Houston oil giant is wary of committing new capital there until the country is more stable and questions around commercial agreements get resolved.

From The Wall Street Journal

If it doesn’t, then other countries will be increasingly wary of the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• attentive
• circumspect
• considerate
• distrustful
• frugal
• leery
• prudent
• suspicious
• vigilant
• watchful