leery

English

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leery

/ˈlɪəɹi/ Australia, UK
/ˈlɪːɹɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈlɪɹi/
/ˈlɪɚi/ US
/ˈliɹi/ US
/ˈliɾe/ Scotland
/-ɾɪ/ Scotland
/-ɾi/ Scotland
/ˈliəɹi/ New Zealand
/ˈlɛːɹi/

Sounds like lairy (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪəɹi

Where it comes from

First attested in 1718, “untrustful, suspicious”, either from leer (“sideward look”) + -y, lear (“learning, knowledge”) + -y. More at leer, lear.

adjective leerier · leeriest · leary

Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns. Since he was bitten by a dog when he was young, he has always been leery of animals.
UK, obsolete, slang Sly; artful; knowing.
of a look or smile Leering; lecherous or unpleasant. And there was a particularly brutal villain with leery eyes, ugly mouth, with one tooth gone, and an iron jaw like a hull-dog's.

Translations

Every language

adj cautious, hesitant, or nervous

Español	receloso, desconfiado, cauteloso
Deutsch	argwöhnisch
Română	precaut, suspicios, ezitant, îngrijorat
Русский	осмотрительный osmotritelʹnyj

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MLA

"leery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/leery. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

leery. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/leery

Chicago

"leery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/leery.

BibTeX

@misc{leery_2026,
  title = {leery},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/leery},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}