wary

Intermediatezipf 3.57

Pronunciation

/ˈwɛəri/(WAIR-ee)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

警惕的；小心翼翼的（对潜在危险保持警觉）

Definition

Feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems.

Word family

  • warily/ˈwɛərɪli/(adv)小心地
  • wariness/ˈwɛərɪnəs/(n)警惕

Collocations

  • wary of strangers
  • remain wary
  • wary eye
  • grow wary

Examples

  1. 1.She was wary of investing in volatile markets. (cautious)
  2. 2.Hikers should be wary of bears in this area. (alert to danger)

Synonyms

  • cautious/ˈkɔːʃəs/— careful, general
  • vigilant/ˈvɪdʒɪlənt/— watchful, actively alert
  • guarded/ˈɡɑːdɪd/— careful not to reveal too much

Etymology

from Old English "wær" = aware, cautious — related to "aware"