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
The puzzle is a great gift for someone who is leery about putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle.
—
Judy Holmes, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Some Europeans are becoming leery of visiting the U.S., as reports of U.S. immigration authorities detaining them while traveling, for reasons that are not clear, swirl.
—CBS News, 21 Mar. 2025
Upper-chamber Democrats are leery of blocking the bill, writes The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, fearing that a shutdown may backfire by giving Musk and the Trump administration more leverage to force federal workers into retirement.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2025
Many crypto industry leaders, as well as some members of Congress, are leery of the government holding something so risky.
—Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leery
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Judy Holmes, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Some Europeans are becoming leery of visiting the U.S., as reports of U.S. immigration authorities detaining them while traveling, for reasons that are not clear, swirl.
—CBS News, 21 Mar. 2025
Upper-chamber Democrats are leery of blocking the bill, writes The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, fearing that a shutdown may backfire by giving Musk and the Trump administration more leverage to force federal workers into retirement.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2025
Many crypto industry leaders, as well as some members of Congress, are leery of the government holding something so risky.
—Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leery
Cite this Entry
“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leery. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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leery
adjective
: suspicious sense 2, wary
leery of strangers
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