wary


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.
Related to wary: Leary, suavity

war·y

(wâr′ē)
adj. war·i·er, war·i·est
1. On guard; watchful: taught to be wary of strangers.
2. Characterized by caution: a wary glance at the black clouds.
[Middle English ware, from Old English wær; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]
war′i·ly adv.
war′i·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wary

(ˈwɛərɪ)
adj, warier or wariest
1. watchful, cautious, or alert
2. characterized by caution or watchfulness
[C16: from ware2 + -y1]
ˈwarily adv
ˈwariness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

war•y

(ˈwɛər i)

adj. war•i•er, war•i•est.
1. watchful; being on one's guard against danger.
2. arising from caution: a wary look.
[1545–55; ware 2 + -y 1]
war′i•ly, adv.
war′i•ness, n.
syn: See careful.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj. 1. [画像:wary - marked by keen caution and watchful prudence]wary - 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"
unwary - not alert to danger or deception; "the shrieks of unwary animals taken by surprise"; "some thieves prey especially on unwary travelers"; "seduce the unwary reader into easy acquiescence"- O.J.Campbell
2. [画像:wary - openly distrustful and unwilling to confide]wary - openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
distrustful - having or showing distrust; "a man of distrustful nature"; "my experience...in other fields of law has made me distrustful of rules of thumb generally"- B.N.Cardozo; "vigilant and distrustful superintendence"- Thomas Jefferson
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

wary

adjective
1. suspicious, sceptical, mistrustful, suspecting, guarded, apprehensive, cagey (informal), leery (slang), distrustful, on your guard, chary, heedful My mother always told me to be wary of strangers.
2. watchful, careful, alert, cautious, prudent, attentive, vigilant, circumspect, heedful Keep a wary eye on children when they are playing near water.
watchful rash, reckless, careless, negligent, unsuspecting, foolhardy, unwary, unguarded, imprudent, remiss
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

wary

adjective
1. Vigilantly attentive:
Idiom: on the ball.
2. Trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
حَذِر، مُحْتَرِس
forsigtig
bizalmatlankodóelővigyázatosgyanakvókörültekintőóvatos
varkár
piesardzīgs

wary

[ˈwɛərɪ] ADJ (warier (compar) (wariest (superl))) [person] → receloso ; [manner] → cauteloso, precavido
she seems very wary → parece estar muy recelosa
banks are becoming increasingly wary → los bancos están volviéndose cada vez más precavidos
to keep a wary eye on sth/sb I kept a wary eye on the gathering stormclouds → observaba con cierta preocupación los nubarrones que se acercaban
the president had to keep a wary eye on the radical faction of his party → el presidente tenía que vigilar de cerca al sector más radical de su partido
he gave her a wary look → la miró con recelo
the question made her wary → la pregunta la puso en guardia
to be wary of sth/sb → desconfiar de algo/algn, no fiarse de algo/algn
to be wary of strangers → desconfiar or no fiarse de los desconocidos
they were very wary of his violent temper → se mostraban muy cautelosos debido a su temperamento violento
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

wary

[ˈwɛəri] adj → méfiant(e)
to be wary about doing sth, to be wary of doing sth → être méfiant(e) à l'idée de faire qch
to be wary of sb/sth → se méfier de qn/qch
to keep a wary eye on sb → surveiller qn de près
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wary

adj (+er) → vorsichtig ; (= looking and planning ahead) → umsichtig, klug, wachsam ; look → misstrauisch, argwöhnisch ; to be wary of or about somebody/something → sich vor jdm/einer Sache in Acht nehmen, vor jdm/einer Sache auf der Hut sein; to be wary of or about doing something → seine Zweifel or Bedenken haben, ob man etw tun soll; be wary of talking to strangers → hüte dich davor, mit Fremden zu sprechen ; to keep a wary eye on somebody/something → ein wachsames Auge auf jdn/etw haben
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wary

[ˈwɛərɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (gen) → prudente ; (manner) → cauto/a
to be wary (of) → essere diffidente (di)
to keep a wary eye on sth → tenere d'occhio qc
to be wary about or of doing sth → andare cauto/a nel fare qc
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

wary

(ˈweəri) adjective
cautious or on one's guard (about or concerning). Be wary of lending money to him. versigtig, op jou hoede حَذِر، مُحْتَرِس внимателен cauteloso ostražitý vorsichtig forsigtig επιφυλακτικός cauteloso, cauto, prudente ettevaatlik مواظب varovainen prudent; méfiant זהיר होशियार oprezan, pozoran óvatos hati-hati varkár accorto, cauto; diffidente 用心深い 경계하고 있는 atsargus piesardzīgs berhati-hati omzichtig forsiktig, var, sky czujny, ostrożny cauteloso prudent; circumspect осторожный ostražitý, opatrný oprezen oprezan varsam, försiktig ระมัดระวัง; ระวังตัว; เฝ้าคอยระวัง dikkatli 小心翼翼的,提防的 обережний ہوشیار cảnh giác 小心翼翼的,谨慎的
ˈwarily adverb
op die hoede بِحَذَر، باحْتِراس внимателно cautelosamente opatrně vorsichtig forsigtigt επιφυλακτικά cautelosamente, cautamente, prudentemente ettevaatlikult با مواظبت varovaisesti avec prudence בזהירות सतर्कतापूर्वक oprezno, pozorno óvatosan dengan hati-hati varlega, gætilega con cautela 用心深く 신중히 atsargiai piesardzīgi dengan berhati-hati omzichtig forsiktig, varsomt ostrożnie cautelosamente cu prudenţă осторожно opatrne oprezno oprezno varsamt, försiktigt อย่างระมัดระวัง; โดยระมัดระวัง dikkatlice 小心翼翼地 обережно ہوشیاری سے một cách cảnh giác 小心翼翼地,谨慎地
ˈwariness noun
versigtigheid حَذَر، إحْتِراس внимателност cautela obezřelost die Vorsicht forsigtighed επιφύλαξη cautela, prudencia ettevaatlikkus مواظبت varovaisuus prudence זהירות सतर्कता oprez óvatosság kehati-hatian varkárni, gætni cautela; diffidenza 用心深さ 신중함 atsargumas piesardzība sifat hati-hati omzichtigheid forsiktighet, skyhet ostrożność cautela prudenţă осторожность obozretnosť opreznost opreznost varsamhet, försiktighet ความระมัดระวัง dikkatli olma 小心翼翼 обережність ہوشیاری sự thận trọng 小心翼翼,谨慎,注意
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Vanderburgh made up by activity and intelligence for his ignorance of the country; was always wary, always on the alert; discovered every movement of his rivals, however secret and was not to be eluded or misled.
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Therefore theism did never perturb states; for it makes men wary of themselves, as looking no further: and we see the times inclined to atheism (as the time of Augustus Caesar) were civil times.
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A low murmur, but one that was clearly indicative of dissatisfaction, passed among the attentive listeners, and served to inform the old man that he had not been sufficiently wary in proposing a measure that he intended should notify the travellers in the brake of the presence of their dangerous neighbours.
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When serenely advancing on one of these journeys, if any strange suspicious sights are seen, my lord whale keeps a wary eye on his interesting family.
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"Our new name has been chosen with a wary eye to your suggestions.
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Nicholas understood that something must have happened between Sonya and Dolokhov before dinner, and with the kindly sensitiveness natural to him was very gentle and wary with them both at dinner.
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And, looking at his strong, agile, assiduously careful and needlessly wary movements, the mother felt her mind at rest, and smiled gaily and approvingly as she watched him.
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He groped along as stealthily, with as cautious a tread, and as wary an outlook, as a thief entering a chamber where a man lies only half asleep -- or, it may be, broad awake -- with purpose to steal the very treasure which this man guards as the apple of his eye.
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Just for a moment or two they wrestled playfully, until the scent of Sheeta, the panther, brought them to their feet, alert and wary. The great cat was passing through the jungle in front of them.
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He had come out of the desert country to the east into a land of plenty but though he was young and strong, the wary grass-eaters had managed to elude his mighty talons each time he had thought to make a kill.
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An unequal fight it seemed to most; but there were a few, and they the most experienced, who saw something in the youth's steady gray eye and wary step which left the issue open to doubt.
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"And the mightier they are the more sane and wary should we be.
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