Definition of “wary” - English Dictionary

“wary” in English

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waryadjective

uk /ˈweə.ri/ us /ˈwer.i/

C2 not completely trusting or certain about something or someone:

I'm a little wary of/about giving people my address when I don't know them very well.

More examples

warily
adverb uk /ˈweə.rəl.i/ us /ˈwer.əl.i/

She eyed the dog warily, afraid it might jump.
wariness
noun [ U ] uk /ˈweə.ri.nəs/ us /ˈwer.i.nəs/

(Definition of “wary” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“wary” in American English

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waryadjective

us /ˈweər·i/

careful because you do not completely trust someone or something or are not certain about what you should do:

Teachers are often wary of standardized tests.

(Definition of “wary” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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wary

Part of the success, of course, was that people were not at all wary of the potential problem, nor were virus scanners or cleaners available.
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She is then taken to a hospital, but the experience has left her much like a ravenous animal, and wary of human kindness.
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The developer immediately came under scrutiny from members of the community, who were wary of the past two failed attempts to redevelop the downtown area.
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I am aware that we must, after the case of corruption and scandals that we have had, be very wary, but, nevertheless, we should not overshoot the mark either.
The generally conservative trade unions are often wary or even mistrustful towards consumer or environmental organisations which follow other aims and sometimes represent contradictory interests.
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He was also wary of wasting writing time and dissipating his talent in social success, having seen this happen to many talented writers, to the detriment of their later work.
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In this line of thought, it is more productive to recognize that anthropologists are themselves culturally programmed observers, and must always be wary of biases that influence information they receive.
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They can be loyal to their family and may be wary around strangers, but can not show shy or fearful behavior.
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He said he was wary of the impact of hundreds of deaths on the nation, and it could have been far worse.
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Results from this study showed that the cross-race effect could be reduced and sometimes even eliminated when participants were wary of it.
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They are usually seen in or near the canopy but due to their wary behavior and scarcity at open spots they are easily missed for a bird of this size.
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Like other rails, this species is difficult to observe as it moves through the sawgrass, and may crouch to avoid detection, but is not usually particularly wary.
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Many people were wary of allowing this to occur, but having seen the impact joining the band has on younger players, soon warmed to it.
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Furthermore, it has a grand opening sequence that is, by itself, a first-rate short story, and, to boot, a wonderful indicator for any wary reader of what is in store.
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She seems a bit wary of this, as she is concerned about their well-being, but chooses to watch over them from afar.
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