wary
Careful because you sense there might be danger.
wary in a sentence
- The deer stayed wary at the water's edge, ears twitching at every sound.
- Be wary on the harbour steps at low tide, because the seaweed makes them slippery.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to wary?
- Acareless
- Btrusting
- Crash
- Dcareful
Show the answer
D: careful. The other three mean the opposite of wary.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to wary?
- Acareless
- Balert
- Ccareful
- Dwatchful
Show the answer
A: careless. The other three mean nearly the same as wary.
Words that mean something similar
careful, watchful, alert
Words that mean the opposite
careless, trusting, rash
Careful: wary is not sceptical
Sceptical asks: is this true? Wary asks: could this hurt me? Read why children mix them up.
More words about behaviour & manners
- wasteful: Using more of something than you need, so some of it is thrown away or lost.
- wayward: Behaving badly and hard to control.
- wholesome: Good for you and healthy.
- yield: To give in and stop fighting, or to produce something like crops.
- adhere: To stick firmly to something, or to follow a rule closely.
- admirable: So good that people look up to it and praise it.
- aggravate: To make a problem worse, or to really annoy someone.
- appease: To calm someone down by giving them what they want.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test