Wary

Definition: Wary

Wary

Adjective

1. 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".

2. Openly distrustful and unwilling to confide.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "wary" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Note: Wary \Wa"ry\, adjective. [Comparative Warier; superlative Wariest.]. (references)

Synonyms: Wary

Caution

Adjective: cautious, wary, guarded; on one's guard; (watchful); cavendo tutus; in medio tutissimus; vigilant.

Crosswords: Wary

Be rary of wousing a rizard's wrath - rousing a rizard's - Be wary of making a magician angry (The Last Unicorn; writing credit: Peter S. Beagle)

I feel a very real sense that we ought to be wary of running any unsubstansiated stories if we're to avoid a feces and fan situation (Drop the Dead Donkey; writing credit: Andy Hamilton; Guy Jenkin)

Though I know should be wary, Still I venture someplace scary (Beetlejuice; writing credit: Manfred Purzer)

Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and miss. (references; author: unknown)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Eat, Drink and Be Wary (Getting and Spending a Consumers Dilemma) (reference)

• Love Be Wary (Largeprint) [LARGE PRINT] (reference)

• The Wary Fugitives: Four Poets and the South (The Walter Lynwood Fleming Lectures in Southern History) (reference)

• The Wary Spinster (reference)

• The Wary Warriors: Future Directions in Japanese Security Policies (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Be wary of strong drink

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Be wary of cure claims from profitable companies that cannot product sound scientific data on the efficacy of their products. (references)

Researchers are wary of giving people false hope that a "magic bullet" for curing spinal cord injury is just around the corner. (references)

Persons with allergies should be wary of exaggerated claims for appliances that cannot really clean the air. Very small air cleaners cannot remove dust and pollen--and no air purifier can prevent viral or bacterial diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, or tuberculosis. (references)

Business

German consumers are often wary of purchasing new services or products. (references)

American acceptance of such ingredients has given the Belgians another reason to remain wary of American influence. (references)

However, be aware that some Belgians are fast becoming wary of direct mail offers and many do not yet have reliable access to the Internet. (references)

Civil Liberties

Peru

Congressional committees investigating corruption under that administration have filed criminal complaints against media figures, and fears of future revelations encourage self-censorship by journalists wary of taking a position which may prove controversial in the current atmosphere or which may draw unwelcome government attention. (references)

Economic History

Kazakhstan

U.S. companies should be wary of payment-after-service arrangements and use payment schemes providing additional guarantees of timely payments. (references)

Nigeria

Although debt instruments (bonds) abandoned for several years due to the non-performance of government enterprises are, once more, being floated, investors are generally wary of them. (references)

Human Rights

Guinea

Many citizens are wary of judicial corruption and instead prefer to rely on traditional systems of justice at the village or urban neighborhood level. (references)

Minorities

Nepal

Some citizens are wary of proselytizing and conversion by Christians and, therefore, view the presence of Christianity with alarm. (references)

Political Economy

Liberia

After a seven-year civil conflict in which the country's infrastructure was virtually destroyed, followed by on-going instability in Lofa County, investors are wary of making large capital investments. (references)

Trade

Kazakhstan

Local citizens are wary of the reliability of Kazakhstani banks and fear local tax authorities. (references)

Albania

Albanians, generally unfamiliar with banks and distrustful of financial institutions after the 1996-97 collapse of the pyramid schemes, are wary of depositing their savings in banks. (references)

Travel

Israel

Visitors should be wary of any food that may have been exposed too long to the hot, open air, temperatures. (references)

Worker Rights

Belarus

Although wary in the past of challenging the regime seriously, some FTUB leaders have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of the policies of the Lukashenka regime. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "wary": be wary ♦ be wary of ♦ be wary of doing smth.. Additional references.

Beginning with "wary": wary-eyed.

Ending with "wary": credit-wary, market-wary, shop-worker-wary, sun-wary.

Albanian

syhapur (awake, leery, lidless, vigilant, watchful, wide awake), syçelë (open-eyed, wakeful, watchful), i matur (abstinent, calculating, canny, careful, cautious, chary, chaste, circumlocutory, circumspect, circumspective, conservative, deliberate, discreet, forehanded, gingerly, judicious, moderate, provident, prudent, reasonable, sober, staid, thoughtful, well advised, well balanced), i kujdesshëm (accurate, attentive, canny, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, conservative, considerate, deliberate, diligent, forethoughtful, forward-looking, grandmotherly, guarded, heedful, monitorial, observant, precise, thoughtful, up and coming), dyshues (distrustful, doubtful, doubting, dubious, incredulous, leery, mistrustful, queer, shady, suspicious). (various references)

Arabic 

‏يقظ (alert, awake, awoke, careful, circumspect, jaunty, lively, mindful, napless, observant, on duty, open-eyed, prompt, springy, vigilant, wakeful, watchful, wide awake), ‏محترس (alert, cagey, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, prudent, vigilant), ‏متحفظ (aloof, aloofness, careful, cautious, close, discreet, incommunicable, incommunicative, reserved, reticent, secretive, self contained, stand offish, taciturn, uncommunicative), ‏حذر (admonish, advise, alert, alertness, be careful, be wise, beware, cagey, calculating, calculation, canny, care, careful, caution, cautious, cautiousness, chariness, chary, considerate, discreet, discreetness, discretion, exhort, fabian, forewarn, guard, guarded, guarding, heedful, leery, look behind, look out, lookout, mind, on the alert, on the lookout, prudence, prudent, safe, shy, shyness, sound an alarm, suspicious, take care, vigilance, vigilant, wariness, warn, watch, wide awake). (various references)

Bulgarian 

хитър (acute, arch, artful, calculating, catty, clever, crafty, cunning, cute, deep, designing, disingenuous, dodgy, foxy, guileful, insidious, knowing, leery, long-headed, parlous, patent, pawky, politic, sharp, shifty, shrewd, sleek, slim, sly, smart, supple, wide, wily, wordly-wise), внимателен (affable, alert, attentive, careful, cautious, circumspect, considerate, delicate, guarded, heedful, intent, nice, precautious, scrupulous, thoughtful, ware, watchful), ловък (able, adroit, agile, artful, dodgy, handy, knacky, knowing, light fingered, natty, neat, neat-handed, peart, politic, pretty, shrewd, skilful, skillful, slick, swift-handed, tricksy, tricky, whizbang), бдителен (alert, awake, hawk-eyed, jealous, observant, open-eyed, unsleeping, unwinking, vigilant, wakeful, waking, watchful, wide awake), предпазлив (cagey, canny, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, cosy, deliberate, deliberative, discreet, fabian, gingerly, guarded, open-eyed, precautious, prudent, sparing, ware). (various references)

Chinese 

机警 (Open-eyed). (various references)

Czech

ostražitý (alert, vigilant, watchful, wide awake), opatrný (cagey, cagy, cannie, canny, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, conservative, gingerly, guarded, prudent, safe, shy), obezřetný (cautious, circumspect, deliberate, politic, provident, prudent), nedùvìřivý (diffident, distrustful, incredulous, mistrustful, sceptical, suspicious). (various references)

Farsi 

هشیار (Wakeful), بسیارمحتاط, باملاحظه (Considerate, Tender, Thoughtful). (various references)

French

vigilant (wakeful, watchful), prudent. (various references)

German

vorsichtig (cagey, canny, careful, carefully, cautiouns, cautious, cautiously, charily, chary, circumspect, circumspectly, conservative, deliberate, gingerly, guarded, guardedly, prudent, safe, safely, steady, tentative, warily). (various references)

Greek 

προσεκτικόσ (advertent, attentive, canny, careful, cautious, chary, chary of, close, heedful, mindful, observing, painstaking, precautious, regardful, tactful, thoughtful, wakeful, watchful), προσεκτικός (attentive, careful, mindful), προσεχτικός, προφυλακτικόσ (circumspect, precautional, precautionary, prophylactic), επιφυλακτικός (cagey, cautious, cautious about, chary, reserved). (various references)

Hebrew 

חש�"� י (suspicious), ז�"יר (calculating, careful, cautious, chary, discreet, guarded, mindful, prudent, vigilant). (various references)

Hungarian

óvatos (alert, be careful, cagey, cagy, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, conservative, discreet, fabian, guarded, heedful, prudent, reserved, stealthy). (various references)

Italian

guardingo (cautious, gingerly, open-eyed, slow, thoughtful, watchful), diffidente (defensive, distrustful, mistrustful, suspicious), cauto (cagey, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, deliberate, gingerly, heedful, safe). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

�"�心深い (watchful). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ようじ�"ぶかい (watchful). (various references)

Korean 

주의한. (various references)

Manx

warree (facetious, knowing, witty), twoaieagh (apprehensive, aware, careful, cautious, circumspect, northern person, northerner, northsider, on the look out, vigilant), geilltagh (observer). (various references)

Pig Latin

aryway.(various references)

Portuguese

prudente (advised, canny, careful, cattish, cautious, chary, circumspective, discreet, far-seeing, far-sighted, forehanded, heedful, long-sighted, non-committal, politic, provident, prudent, prudential, reasonable, sagacious, sage, sensible, sound, well-advised, well-judged, wise, wizard), ponderado (considerate, cool, prudent, sedate, sober-minded), desconfiado (cagey, diffident, distrustful, mistrusted, mistrustful, shy, suspicious, touchy, trustless, umbrageous), circunspeto (cattish, cautious, circumspect, circumspective, deliberate, discreet, reserved, serious, thought-out, vigilant, wise), circunspecto (cattish, cautious, circumspect, circumspective, deliberate, discreet, reserved, serious, thought-out, vigilant, wise), cauteloso (cagey, cannie, cautionary, cautious, deliberate, gingerly, guarded, heedful, mature, prudent, reserved, vigilant, watchful), atento (argus-eyed, attentive, careful, hawk-eyed, intent, mindful, observant, regardful, watchful). (various references)

Romanian

prudent (careful, cautious, chary, deliberate, discreet, gingerly, heedful, prudent, safe, well advised, wide awake), prevãzãtor (cautious, chary, deliberate, discreet, far-seeing, provident, providently, prudent, thoughtful, wide awake, wise), precaut (cagey, cautious, cautiously, circumspect, gingerly, precautious, prudent, safe, thoughtful, warily), grijuliu (advertent, attentive, careful, cautious, chary, considerate, heedful, jealous, tender, thoughtful), circumspect (cautious, circumspect, deliberate, discreet, thoughtful), chibzuit (balanced, canny, cautious, circumspect, deliberate, discreet, economic, economical, judicious, measured, provident, providently, prudent, reflective, thought-out, thrifty, wise). (various references)

Russian 

осторожный (cagey, cagy, canny, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, discreet, gingerly, prudent, watchful), осмотрительный (canny, cautious, circumspect, deliberate, discreet, gingerly, guarded), подозрительный (distrustful, leery, queer, questionable, screwy, suspect, suspicious, umbrageous). (various references)

Scottish

faicilleach (guardedly). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

oprezan (alert, argus-eyed, careful, chary, circumspect, circumspective, deliberate, discreet, measured, vigilant, ware, wide awake). (various references)

Spanish

escaldado (loose, scalding), cauteloso (cagey, cagy, cautious, chary, gingerly, piker, precautious, shy, stealthy). (various references)

Swedish

varsam (careful, cautious), försiktig (cagey, canny, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, conservative, deliberate, gingerly, guarded, mealy mouthed, tentative). (various references)

Turkish

uyanık (alert, argus-eyed, astir, awake, aware, canny, conscious, enterprising, fly, guarded, heady, leery, nimble, on the alert, open-eyed, sharp, shrewd, sleepless, smart, unwinking, vigilant, wakeful, waking, watchful, wide awake, with it), tedbirli (advised, cagey, canny, careful, cautious, circumspect, deliberate, deliberative, discreet, fabian, fail-proof, fail-safe, forethoughtful, guarded, politic, precautionary, prudent, prudential, tactical, well advised), ihtiyatlı (cagey, cautious, chary, deliberative, discreet, fabian, forethoughtful, guarded, heedful, politic, precautionary, provident, prudent, prudential, restrained, shy, temperate, undemonstrative, vigilant, waiting, well advised), dikkatli (argus-eyed, assiduous, attentive, canny, careful, cautious, circumspect, gingerly, heedful, intense, intent, mindful, particular, regardful, rigorous, scrupulous, sleepless, solicitous, studious, thoughtful, watchful). (various references)

Ukrainian

скупенький, обережний (alert, canny, careful, cautionary, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, deliberate, discreet, fabian, gingerly, heedful, precautious, tender, up and coming, ware, watchful), обачний (awake, canny, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, deliberate, fly, guarded, hard-headed, provident, prudent, wise), насторожений (alert, circumspect, circumspective, listening, prick-eared, watchful), підозрілий (doubtful, dubious, leery, mistrustful, questionable, rum, rummy, screwy, suspect, suspicious). (various references)

Vietnamese 

thận trọng (advisedly, box, calculating, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, considerate, discreet, guarded, politic, prudent, prudential, tender, vigilant, watchful, wide awake), cẩn thận (canny, careful, cautious, closely, conscientious, religious, tender), cảnh giác (flew, fly, qui vive, vigilant, watchful). (various references)

Welsh

gwagelog (circumspect), gochelgar (cautious). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words ending with "wary": cassowary, overwary, unwary. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Wary" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: awnry, Awori, awray, Gwari, oary, rary, rawy, waar, Wady, waery, waey, wagy, wairy, waky, warb, warey, warg, wari, warie, warmy, waro, warr, warri, warx, Waryn, warz, waty, waury, wawy, waya, wayb, wayi, waym, wayo, wazy, werey, werh, werry, wery, weyr, wgry, wify, wirey, wiri, wirry, wory, wraq, wrya, wury, zary. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: awry.

-1 letter: raw, ray, rya, war, way, wry, yar, yaw.

-2 letters: ar, aw, ay, ya.

+1 letter: rawly, warty, weary.

+2 letters: airway, arrowy, aweary, bawdry, bewray, brawly, brawny, crawly, drawly, lawyer, psywar, runway, sawyer, strawy, swarty, swayer, tawdry, unwary, wafery, warily, warmly, wastry, watery, wavery, wrathy, yarrow, yawner, yawper.

+3 letters: airways, archway, areaway, beweary, bewrays, caraway, daywork, doorway, drywall, eyewear, fairway, faraway, freeway, hayward, haywire, lawyers, marrowy, parkway, partway, psywars, raceway, railway, roadway, rollway, ropeway, runaway, runways, sawyers, scrawly, scrawny, skyward, sprawly, swarthy, swayers, thruway, tramway, trawley, unweary, waggery, wastery, wayward, wayworn, wearily, whipray, wireway, workday, wreathy, yarrows, yawners, yawpers.