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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The farmer who does farm tomatoes, and leased that field from Tibbitts, however, is leery of making beds for his tomatoes in October after water covered the soil for more than a month. Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025 Not surprisingly, the poll also found that consumers are leery of Meta, which Mark Zuckerberg runs. Christian Josi, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025 Trump’s nominee to chair the CFTC is still in limbo as some in the crypto and gambling industries appear leery of him. Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 12 Aug. 2025 Wall Street has long been leery of Palantir’s runaway valuation. Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for leery

Word History

First Known Use

1718, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of leery was in 1718

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leery. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

leery

adjective
: suspicious sense 2, wary
leery of strangers

More from Merriam-Webster on leery

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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