# leech vs leery

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### leech
*noun · IPA /liːt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #23,327*
An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of subclass Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.

### leery
*adjective · IPA /ˈlɪəɹi/ · frequency rank #48,321*
Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/leech-vs-leery