leery
/ˈlɪəɹi/
"leery" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“leery” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,321. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #48,321
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns.
Corpus desk
Index EN-leery · leery · English
leery · rank #48,321 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #48,321
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH leaker
Nearest frequency peer: leaker (-2 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “leery”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- lances
lances
51,687 corpus weight
- leaker
leaker
51,682 corpus weight
- leery
leery
51,680 corpus weight
- lepers
lepers
51,678 corpus weight
- lessee
lessee
51,677 corpus weight
- Lethbridge
Lethbridge
51,676 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “leery” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around leery (IPA /ˈlɪəɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #48,321 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how leery appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Since he was bitten by a dog when he was young, he has always been leery of animals.
“[…]He was one of their top gun-fighters—always up to his ears in the thick of any fightin' that was goin' on. He never was leery of anything on two feet, I'll say that much for'm.”
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
How do you spell "leery"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "leery", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "leery". Here's where to go from here.
- "leery" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ley". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #48,321 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.