warywar‧y /ˈweəri $ ˈweri/ ●○○ adjective 
I’m a bit wary of driving in this fog.wary of We must teach children to be wary of strangers. Keep a wary eye on the weather before you set sail. She had a wary expression on her face.—wariness noun [singular, uncountable]: a wariness in her voice—warily adverb: She eyed him warily.
WORD ORIGINwary
Origin:
1400-1500 ware ‘careful’ (11-20 centuries), from Old English wærEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Wary of becoming entangled in her friend's family quarrels, Eileen made an excuse and left.
- One of the guards was fiddling with his radio, all the time keeping a wary eye on the five prisoners.
- She had become extremely wary of relationships as a result of her childhood experiences.
- The problems with selling the house had made her much more wary about financial matters.
- A natural gas explosion that killed three and injured more than 20 others in 1992 has made the community particularly wary.
- As for coming out: you are very wary.
- Be wary of advisers who recommend that you sell all your current investments in order to buy new ones.
- Consumers have become very wary and are spending much less.
- One also needs to be wary of the inequalities that market mechanisms bring in their wake.
Longman Language Activatorcareful to avoid risks or danger
someone who is careful tries to avoid danger, risks, or accidents: · You'll be OK with Jane - she's a very careful driver.· Paints today are getting safer as companies remove harmful chemicals, but you still need to be careful.careful (that): · We had to be careful that we didn't tip the raft over.
someone who is cautious does not like taking risks and is always very careful to avoid them: · If we're too cautious, we might lose a good business opportunity.· Phil's a very cautious driver - it'll take at least an hour to get there.cautious about: · I've always been cautious about giving people my phone number.
if you do something with care or with caution , you do it carefully in order to avoid accidents: · Some roads may be icy and motorists are advised to drive with caution.handle something with care: · These antiques are fragile and must be handled with care.
someone who is wary does not easily trust people and thinks very carefully before getting involved in any situation that might be dangerous or cause problems: wary of: · She had become extremely wary of relationships as a result of her childhood experiences.· Wary of becoming entangled in her friend's family quarrels, Eileen made an excuse and left.wary about: · The problems with selling the house had made her much more wary about financial matters.keep a wary eye on somebody/something (=watch something or someone carefully): · One of the guards was fiddling with his radio, all the time keeping a wary eye on the five prisoners.
formal always paying attention to what is happening, so that you notice any danger or illegal activity: · Be vigilant on public transport and at tourist sites, as pickpockets operate in these areas.vigilant about: · We have to be vigilant about protecting our right to privacy.remain vigilant: · The terrorist threat is still real, and the public should remain vigilant.ever vigilant (=always vigilant): · We must be ever vigilant. Don't think that Fascism can never rise again. It can.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Keep a wary eye on the weather before you set sail. She eyed him warily.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
someone who is wary is careful because they think something might be dangerous or harmfulbe wary of (doing) something Keep a wary eye on the weather before you set sail. She eyed him warily.· Because she herself had subsequently been extremely wary of any emotional entanglements.· Chital are extremely wary animals that alert each other to danger with a whistling call.· That is something of which we ought to be extremely wary.· Some have become extremely wary of men through their experiences, and feel suspicious and distrustful.
· But soon nervous, timid seals tended to live longer than trusting ones, so gradually seals grew more and more wary.· The incident had made Mr Roche, who was not adventurous, even more wary.· But my traveling companion, more wary and savvy than I, smelled scam.
· Lucy, still wary, watched him for a moment longer.· He was still wary of her taking things amiss.
· The managements were very wary of taking her on, of course.· Consumers have become very wary and are spending much less.· As for coming out: you are very wary.· They may be distressed about visiting a prison - they may be very wary.· I am very, very wary of people.· They are the Robemaker's sentinels, the effluence of necromancy, and you must be very very wary indeed of them.· Certainly while we looked on, the pigeons were keeping a very wary distance.
NOUN· Under the wary eye of Inspector Fouchard, he turned his attention to the dagger.· He turned out to be a slight boy with dark, wary eyes and black hair cut short.· Once across the allotments he walked more openly, even though he kept a wary eye out behind him.· Jimmy seemed aware of that too, and kept a wary eye on him while he addressed Cardiff.· We've go to keep a wary eye on what they're doing.· All the tensed heads came up hopefully, all the too quiescent bodies braced, all the wary eyes gleamed.
I’m a bit wary of driving in this fog.wary of We must teach children to be wary of strangers. Keep a wary eye on the weather before you set sail. She had a wary expression on her face.—wariness noun [singular, uncountable]: a wariness in her voice—warily adverb: She eyed him warily.