leery
/ˈlɪəɹi/
"leery" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“leery” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,321 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #48,321
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | leery |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈlɪəɹi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #48,321 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “leery” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for leery is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlɪəɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,321 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for leery, with forms such as "elery", "leerry", and "leeryy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ley", "levy", "lees", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1718, “untrustful, suspicious”, either from leer (“sideward look”) + -y, lear (“learning, knowledge”) + -y. More at leer, lear. The correct English form is leery, spelled L-E-E-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns.
- 2Sly; artful; knowing.
- 3Leering; lecherous or unpleasant.
Etymology
First attested in 1718, “untrustful, suspicious”, either from leer (“sideward look”) + -y, lear (“learning, knowledge”) + -y. More at leer, lear.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elery,leerry,leeryy,leeyr,lerey,lery,lleery
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of leery - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “leery”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-E-E-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈlɪəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ley” - see the side-by-side comparison. leery vs ley
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.