Synonyms for wary
ˈwɛər iwa·ry

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. waryadjective

   Synonyms:
   guarded, chary, careful, cautious

2. waryadjective

   Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, artifices, and dangers; timorously or suspiciously prudent; circumspect; scrupulous; careful.

   He is wary of dogs.

   Synonyms:
   careful, chary, guarded, cautious

3. waryadjective

   Characterized by caution; guarded; careful.

   Synonyms:
   chary, cautious, careful, guarded

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. wary

   Vigilant implies more sustained activity and more intelligent volition than alert; one may be habitually alert by reason of native quickness of perception and thought, or one may be momentarily alert under some excitement or expectancy; one who is vigilant is so with thoughtful purpose. One is vigilant against danger or harm; he may be alert or watchful for good as well as against evil; he is wary in view of suspected stratagem, trickery, or treachery. A person may be wakeful because of some merely physical excitement or excitability, as through insomnia; yet he may be utterly careless and negligent in his wakefulness, the reverse of watchful; a person who is truly watchful must keep himself wakeful while on watch, in which case wakeful has something of mental quality. Watchful, from the Saxon, and vigilant, from the Latin, are almost exact equivalents; but vigilant has somewhat more of sharp definiteness and somewhat more suggestion of volition; one may be habitually watchful; one is vigilant of set purpose and for direct cause, as in the presence of an enemy. Compare ALERT.

   Synonyms:
   alert, awake, careful, cautious, circumspect, on the alert, on the lookout, sleepless, vigilant, wakeful, watchful, wide-awake

   Antonyms:
   careless, drowsy, dull, heedless, inattentive, incautious, inconsiderate, neglectful, negligent, oblivious, thoughtless, unwary

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wary

   Synonyms:
   suspicious, cautious, watchful, guarded, circumspect, prudent, vigilant

   Antonyms:
   unwary, unsuspecting, incautious, invigilant, unwatchful, unguarded, uncircumspect, heedless

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. waryadjective

   marked by keen caution and watchful prudence

   "they were wary in their movements"; "a wary glance at the black clouds"; "taught to be wary of strangers"

   Synonyms:
   suspicious, leery, untrusting, mistrustful

   Antonyms:
   unwary, trusting, unguarded, trustful, gullible

2. leery, mistrustful, suspicious, untrusting, waryadjective

   openly distrustful and unwilling to confide

   Synonyms:
   fishy, leery, shady, funny, suspicious, suspect, untrusting, mistrustful

   Antonyms:
   unwary, gullible, unguarded, trusting, trustful

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. cautious

   i would be cautious about walking there after dark.

   Submitted by Soulwriter on June 13, 2021  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. waryadjective

   Synonyms:
   cautious, heedful, careful, watchful, vigilant, circumspect, prudent, discreet, guarded

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. waryadjective

   Synonyms:
   guarded, cautious, circumspect, careful, vigilant

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "wary":

   cautious, careful, distrustful, suspicious, vigilant, mistrustful, prudent, warned

How to pronounce wary?

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How to use wary in a sentence?

1. Norman Levine:

   One should be wary of chasing dividend stocks in resource areas because they can't be counted upon in good times and bad like non-cyclical companies.

2. Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love":

   Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and miss.

3. Wendy Walsh:

   From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes sense that women are wary of being touched by strangers, women have evolved mechanisms to be choosy about whom they mate with and to fear rape by a stranger. However, touch by friends is both relational -- women tend to befriend as a buffer against stress -- and pleasurable. Touch gives a nice boost of dopamine, the 'feel-good' hormone.

4. Mark McCormick:

   While the near-term USD bias leans higher, we’re wary about chasing the move at these levels.

5. Colombian Jarlinson Pantano:

   I dreamt of this all my life, I'm so happy, majka had won several Tour stages (three) and I was wary of him in the finale but I had good sensations. I knew that if I was catching him in the descent I'd have a good chance to win.