How to Use unwary in a Sentence
unwary
adjective- The fast-moving tide sometimes surprises unwary swimmers.
-
Last year, the Times reported, a tiger crossed paths with an unwary ranger and killed him on the spot.
—Avi Selk, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2018
-
Yet this path is laden with huge challenges and fraught with dangers that await the unwary and unprepared.
—Thomas Lim, Forbes, 30 Aug. 2021
-
The shorter time frame would harm unwary landowners who may not learn of the government’s actions in time to sue.
—James S. Burling, National Review, 5 Oct. 2017
-
The lipstick on the pale faces of Suspiria’s unwary ballerinas, and their nail polish, is red.
—Aja Romano, Vox, 9 Nov. 2018
-
What bothers them are lenders who exploit the needy and unwary through excessive charges.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
-
The dangerous waves can lift heavy driftwood logs and drag unwary beach goers into the ocean.
—Emily Goodykoontz | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 23 Nov. 2019
-
That can be tricky, since some very common plants have proved to be invasive, and unwary gardeners might find them for sale.
—Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, 26 May 2017
-
Sailors have spun yarns for centuries about gigantic rogue waves that could suddenly come out of nowhere to capsize the ships of unwary mariners.
—Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 14 June 2023
-
But this method can still be dangerous, with the potential for the butt of the tree (the part closest to the ground) to launch up backwards, injuring or even killing an unwary tree feller.
—Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 11 Nov. 2021
-
For the flytrap, the very leaves that snap shut and ensnare unwary prey also trap sunlight for use in the photosynthetic process.
—Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023
-
This presents a clear hazard for unwary small fish that happen to be in proximity when said monkfish has its mouth open.
—David Tanis, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2017
-
Together, the unwary helper and its passenger travel in search of a new host, where the viral drama will unfold again.
—Ivan Erill, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2023
-
Snakes, eels, mollusks, eggs in turtle nests and even unwary birds are also otter fodder.
—Shanon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, 15 Feb. 2018
-
At the center of our galaxy, there lies a black hole, which like the Rabbit of Caerbannog, fiercely devours unwary wanderers.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 2 June 2017
-
And yet the Middle East has a notorious habit of surprising the unprepared and unwary.
—Aaron David Miller and Daniel Kurtzer, CNN, 12 May 2021
-
The condition also makes the bears unwary of humans, posing a threat to their safety, reports Ryan Sabalow for the Sacramento Bee.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Mar. 2021
-
The Mega Man series is notorious for difficulty spikes that will eliminate an unwary player, but Mega Man 7 saved that for the very end of the game.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 6 Oct. 2022
-
The spines provide the lizard with a formidable defense against would-be predators and any unwary scientist wanting to take a closer look.
—Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2017
-
Sneaker waves -- large waves that strike without warning -- sometimes claim lives of the unwary due to their unpredictability.
—Fox News, 20 Nov. 2019
-
And yes, microcap stocks are fertile ground for those running elaborate schemes to rip off unwary investors.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020
-
In front of Hanlon’s Saloon, forty kegs had been hammered into the mud as a makeshift sidewalk that ended so abruptly that unwary pedestrians pitched full length into the mud. ...
—Gary Kamiya, SFChronicle.com, 12 June 2020
-
As Frank promised, stalls in the Tucano were gentle and predictable, with none of the unpleasant surprises that some high-performance aircraft like to spring on unwary pilots.
—Lee H. Goldberg, Ars Technica, 15 June 2020
-
Rash and unwary, his playing partners, Francisco Molinari and Tony Finau, plunked their balls into the water.
—Bill Pennington, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2020
-
Keep cats indoors, especially at this time, when unwary youngsters are trying their wings.
—Val Cunningham Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 8 June 2021
-
Wall Street, financiers and greedy executives exploited a loophole to push these stocks to unwary investors.
—Jon Markman, Forbes, 6 July 2022
-
For the most part, Krasinski makes the basics feel iconic rather than generic: an out-of-focus shadow dashing across a hallway; a nail sticking up from a stair tread, waiting for an unwary foot.
—Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Apr. 2018
-
Almost every year a careless snowmobiler or unwary hiker dies on the ice near the Richardson Highway.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Mar. 2018
-
The hairy frogfish, part of the anglerfish family, has fluorescent proteins in its lure, which may help attract unwary prey.
—Smithsonian, 25 July 2019
-
These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before — these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill.
—David Canfield, EW.com, 14 Jan. 2020
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unwary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated: