leery C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈlɪri/ UK /ˈlɪəri/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like lily /l/ vs /ɹ/ Meanings 1 adj wary or suspicious; cautious because of distrust Investors were leery of the company's vague promises. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · wary or suspicious;... warysuspiciouscautiousdistrustfulguardedcharyskeptical ↔ Opposites trustingcredulousunwaryconfident Word family Derived forms leerinessleerily Related forms leer Etymology AI details From leer ('to look askance') + -y, with the sense 'on one's guard, looking warily'. Leer derives from Old English hlēor ('cheek, face'). hlēor Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # leery **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈlɪri/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈlɪəri/ ## Meanings 1. wary or suspicious; cautious because of distrust ## Examples - Investors were leery of the company's vague promises. ## Synonyms - wary - suspicious - cautious - distrustful - guarded - chary - skeptical ## Antonyms - trusting - credulous - unwary - confident ## Derived Forms - leeriness - leerily ## Related Forms - leer ## Roots and Affixes - Root: hlēor ## Etymology From leer ('to look askance') + -y, with the sense 'on one's guard, looking warily'. Leer derives from Old English hlēor ('cheek, face'). ## AI Etymology Leery comes from leer ('to look askance') + -y, with the sense 'on one's guard, looking warily'. Leer derives from Old English hlēor ('cheek, face'). The etymological trail includes Old English hlēor. The same word family includes leeriness, leerily, leer. Its current adjective use means "wary or suspicious; cautious because of distrust". ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown