# wary vs wave

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### wary
*adjective · IPA /ˈwɛə.ɹi/ · frequency rank #13,639*
Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, trickery, and dangers; suspiciously prudent

### wave
*verb · IPA /weɪv/ · frequency rank #2,423*
To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely.

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