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wary

 - 3 dictionary results

war⋅y

  [wair-ee]
Use wary in a Sentence
–adjective, war⋅i⋅er, war⋅i⋅est.
1. watchful; being on one's guard against danger.
2. arising from or characterized by caution: to give someone a wary look.
Origin:
1545–55; ware 2 + -y 1

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

Synonyms:
1. alert, vigilant, guarded, circumspect, prudent. See careful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wary
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-3 in Indo-European roots.]
war'i·ly adv., war'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

wary 
1552, from O.E. wær "prudent, aware, alert, wary," from P.Gmc. *waraz (cf. O.N. varr "attentive," Goth. wars "cautious," O.S. giwar, M.Du. gheware, O.H.G. giwar, Ger. gewahr "aware"), from PIE base *wer- "to cover" (see weir).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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