variants
also leary
as in wary
feeling or showing a lack of trust in someone or something
a leery attitude She seemed a little leery about the proposal. They were leery of their neighbors.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of leery
But anyone going into Tuesday’s show leery of a campaign-style night loaded with partisan pronouncements could have rested easy.
—
Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2024
But given the rebuilding nature of this season and a tight salary-cap situation, the team was leery of spending too much on a soon-to-be 34-year-old corner.
—Joseph Person, The Athletic, 19 Aug. 2024
And the department’s career officials are, like others throughout the federal government, leery of the incoming Trump administration’s plans to gut the federal workforce.
—Rafael Bernal, The Hill, 26 Nov. 2024
Courier Journal: What's the best way to approach and welcome somebody who might be a little bit leery of drinking bourbon?
—Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for leery 
Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2024
But given the rebuilding nature of this season and a tight salary-cap situation, the team was leery of spending too much on a soon-to-be 34-year-old corner.
—Joseph Person, The Athletic, 19 Aug. 2024
And the department’s career officials are, like others throughout the federal government, leery of the incoming Trump administration’s plans to gut the federal workforce.
—Rafael Bernal, The Hill, 26 Nov. 2024
Courier Journal: What's the best way to approach and welcome somebody who might be a little bit leery of drinking bourbon?
—Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for leery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leery
Adjective
-
Catch up quick: Insurance companies have become increasingly wary about their risk exposure after suffering major losses in recent years due to a spate of destructive wildfires that wiped out a decade worth of profits.Nadia Lopez, Axios, 14 Jan. 2025
-
Residents were cautioned be wary of broken glass or other debris.Anthony Trotter, ABC News, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Local and state agencies are urging the public to be cautious as the Charlotte area prepares for likely snow and ice.Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 10 Jan. 2025
-
The Fed can afford to be cautious because the job market has remained strong.Ben Casselman, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Measuring And Sharing Outcomes From my observations, stakeholders are becoming increasingly skeptical of vanity metrics like the number of trees planted or tons of carbon offset.Vivek Rana, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
-
Recent polls have shown that a significant share of Canadians have become skeptical of the contribution of immigrants.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near leery
Cite this Entry
“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leery. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share