wary
/ˈwɛɚ.i/adjective, verb
wary is spelled W-A-R-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “wary vs weary” about 5,400 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, wary means “Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, trickery, and dangers; suspiciously prudent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wary?
| Letters | 4: W-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is wary?
Wary appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wary?
- UK /ˈwɛə.ɹi/
- US /ˈwɛɚ.i/
- Australia /ˈweːɹi/
Wary has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wary.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with wary
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with wary?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as wary from its last stressed vowel (/ɛəɹi/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: awry.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of wary
- warier comparative
- wariest superlative
- waries present, singular, he/she/it
- warying participle, present
- waried participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, trickery, and dangers; suspiciously prudent
He is wary of dogs.
- 2
Characterized by caution; guarded; careful; on one's guard
- 3
thrifty, provident
verb
- 1
To curse, revile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cautious of danger; timorously or suspiciously prudent; circumspect; scrupulous:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | méfiant |
| German | achtsam, umsichtig, vorsichtig, wachsam |
| Portuguese | cauteloso, cuidadoso, de pé atrás |
| Spanish | cauteloso, precavido, desconfiado, receloso, sospechoso, sospechante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wary come from?
From the adjective ware + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).