variants
or less commonly leary
: suspicious, wary
—often used with of
leery of strangers
She seemed a little leery of the proposal.
Examples of leery in a Sentence
They were leery of their neighbors.
Recent Examples on the Web
After two years of tax cuts and rebates, though, totaling some $5 billion, Democrats and some Republicans were leery of further cuts that would permanently reduce state revenue at a time of economic uncertainty.
—
Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
Lake will have to win over the Republicans and independents who were leery of her two years ago.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 23 Mar. 2024
In many cases, the hospitals were leery of taking advice from strangers, even when CISA or the FBI vouched for them, Rogers recalled.
—Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024
Republican legislators tend to be leery of price caps like rent control.
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
For now, investors are leery of investing at high valuations but that likely won’t last, said Lead Edge’s Green.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Iran, largely on the sidelines of recent events, grows increasingly leery of expanding Turkish power, Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel, and potential future territorial changes on its own northern flank.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2023
Most American officials, even those leery of the rightward shift of Israel’s government, have loudly defended Israel in recent days.
—Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2023
In other words, outdoor gear sellers, consumers and legislators were increasingly aware — and leery — of the chemicals behind Gore-Tex.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 15 Feb. 2024
Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
Lake will have to win over the Republicans and independents who were leery of her two years ago.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 23 Mar. 2024
In many cases, the hospitals were leery of taking advice from strangers, even when CISA or the FBI vouched for them, Rogers recalled.
—Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024
Republican legislators tend to be leery of price caps like rent control.
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
For now, investors are leery of investing at high valuations but that likely won’t last, said Lead Edge’s Green.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Iran, largely on the sidelines of recent events, grows increasingly leery of expanding Turkish power, Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel, and potential future territorial changes on its own northern flank.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2023
Most American officials, even those leery of the rightward shift of Israel’s government, have loudly defended Israel in recent days.
—Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2023
In other words, outdoor gear sellers, consumers and legislators were increasingly aware — and leery — of the chemicals behind Gore-Tex.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 15 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near leery
Cite this Entry
“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leery. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
leery
adjective
: suspicious sense 2, wary
leery of strangers
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