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

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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. Quentin Crisp:

   One should always be wary of anyone who promises that their love will last longer than a weekend.

3. Yujiro Goto:

   With Chinese markets shrugging off the MSCI move, risk appetite is slightly better than what we saw in the past few days. But markets are wary before the Fed meeting and the Bank of Japan meeting tomorrow and of course the Brexit worries.

4. Andy Kim:

   This is unacceptable, asian American issues are American issues, and all Americans deserve to be treated with respect. We can treat all Americans with respect and still be wary of threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

5. Meredith Millwood:

   Be wary of public places, dog parks are a gamble you're taking with dogs you don't know.