Which to use
“leer” is a verb and “leery” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,726
- “leer” frequency rank
- #48,321
- “leery” frequency rank
- 96047
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leer | leery |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent. | Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leer and leery apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leer is /lɪə/ while leery is /ˈlɪəɹi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “leer” sits inside “leery”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leer is recorded at frequency rank #47,726, classified as averb, pronounced /lɪə/. leery is at rank #48,321, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɪəɹi/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 96047, this pair ranks #718 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of leer vs leery
Shared letters: elr. Private to "leer": -. Private to "leery": y.
"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "leery" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leer" and "leery" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "leer" or "leery"?
Remembering leer vs leery
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “leer”; for an adjective, it's “leery”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leer” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable