Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wary

/ˈwɛɚ.i/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.57 in modern English

Syllables
wary
IPA
/ˈwɛɚ.i/
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, trickery, and dangers; suspiciously prudent

adj

Characterized by caution; guarded; careful; on one's guard

adj

thrifty, provident

verb

To curse, revile.

Example Sentences

  • "He is wary of dogs."

Etymology

From the adjective ware + -y.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈwɛɚ.i/
  • British English: /ˈwɛə.ɹi/

Inflected Forms

warier (comparative) wariest (superlative) waries (present, singular) warying (participle, present) waried (participle, past) waried (past)

Derived Forms

unwarily unwary warily wariness

Frequently Paired Words

wargus weary

Synonyms

circumspect scrupulous careful cautious guarded chary leery mistrustful suspicious untrusting

Homonyms

weary (cheer–chair merger) whirry (fair–fur merger)

Rhymes With

very mary harry marry gary scary larry jerry vary terry perry cherry

Questions

How do you pronounce wary?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɛɚ.i/.
What does wary mean?
Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, trickery, and dangers; suspiciously prudent
Where does wary come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wary

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wary”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwɛɚ.i/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wary”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wary” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.