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
Courier Journal: What's the best way to approach and welcome somebody who might be a little bit leery of drinking bourbon?
—
Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 24 Sep. 2024
The Obama administration has been leery of arming the groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad partly because of the difficulty in monitoring American weapons in Syria’s labyrinthine war zones.
—Rajan Menon, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2015
Though Colorado Democrats are far from united on how best to approach criminal justice policy, the legislature has grown more leery of tough-on-crime policies in recent years.
—Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 6 Oct. 2024
Assume the Democratic Party, already divided by Israel and leery of Biden’s age and Harris’s unpopularity, will accept the change peaceably and without protest?
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 13 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for leery 
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Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 24 Sep. 2024
The Obama administration has been leery of arming the groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad partly because of the difficulty in monitoring American weapons in Syria’s labyrinthine war zones.
—Rajan Menon, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2015
Though Colorado Democrats are far from united on how best to approach criminal justice policy, the legislature has grown more leery of tough-on-crime policies in recent years.
—Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 6 Oct. 2024
Assume the Democratic Party, already divided by Israel and leery of Biden’s age and Harris’s unpopularity, will accept the change peaceably and without protest?
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 13 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for leery
Dictionary Entries Near leery
Cite this Entry
“Leery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leery. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
leery
adjective
: suspicious sense 2, wary
leery of strangers
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