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leery

 - 4 dictionary results

leer⋅y

1  [leer-ee]
Use leery in a Sentence
–adjective, leer⋅i⋅er, leer⋅i⋅est.
1. wary; suspicious (usually fol. by of): I'm leery of his financial advice.
2. Archaic. knowing; alert.
Origin:
1790–1800; leer 1 + -y 1

Related forms:
leer⋅i⋅ly, adverb
leer⋅i⋅ness, noun

leer⋅y

2  [leer-ee]
–adjective, leer⋅i⋅er, leer⋅i⋅est.
leer 2 .
Origin:
leer 2 + -y 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To leery
leer·y   (lîr'ē)   
adj.   leer·i·er, leer·i·est
Suspicious or distrustful; wary: was leery of aggressive salespeople.
leer'i·ly adv., leer'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

leery 
"untrusting, suspicious," 1718, originally slang, probably from dialectal lere "learning, knowledge" (see lore), or from leer (v.) in some now-obscure sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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