warily
adverb
Simple meaning
In a careful and guarded way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wehruhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɛɹəli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a careful and guarded manner, especially to avoid potential danger or harm.
In a wary manner
“The sailor watched the sky warily.”
Without trust; in a manner showing a lack of trust.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a careful and guarded manner, especially to avoid potential danger or harm.
Used this way, warily is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Careful and exacting
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use warily
- “The sailor watched the sky warily.”adverb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.