warily
/ˈwɛːrɪli
/adverb
1Cautiously; carefully: they walk warily down the street, terrified of being caught...
- Dunfermline had more reason than most to approach the match warily.
- Adjustment comes in stages, each step taken warily.
- They freeze, lapse into a wide-eyed silence, then warily continue their conversation.
Synonyms
carefully, with care, cautiously, gingerly, circumspectly, charily, guardedly, on one's guard, on the alert, on the lookout, on the qui vive, attentively, heedfully, watchfully, vigilantly, observantly, alertly, cannily;
hesitantly, timidly, timorously
1.1In a way that shows a lack of trust; suspiciously: she looked at him warily...
- Elsewhere, ethnic groups continue to eye one another warily.
- He looked back to Jessie, who regarded him warily from beneath a cascade of reddish curls.
- Elizabeth just looked at her warily, not moving from where she stood.
Synonyms
suspiciously, distrustfully, mistrustfully, charily, cautiously, uneasily
informal cagily