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vocabulary
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wary

used in a sentence
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Definition nervous about (or distrustful of) someone or something
  • She was taught to be wary of strangers.
wary = distrustful
  • She looked wary as she reached out to pet her friend's new dog.
  • wary = distrustful (a little afraid)
  • She summoned Jem, who sat warily on the sofa beside me.
    Harper Lee  --  To Kill a Mockingbird
  • warily = nervous (concerned about what will happen)
  •    "...the only thing any of you got to back that credit with is this land . . . and I'd hate to see you put it up."
      "Why's that?" asked Uncle Hammer, wary of his interest.
    Mildred D. Taylor  --  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
  • wary = nervous or distrustful
  • I watched his reaction warily, expecting more of the fury I'd seen at his house.
    Stephenie Meyer  --  New Moon
  • warily = cautiously (fearing danger)
  • She wished she had run out when he'd first walked in, but she had stopped being wary, stopped being afraid.
    Sharon M. Draper  --  Forged by Fire
  • wary = nervous or distrustful
  • My dad smiled, talked, and was shocked and nervous when the gun was pulled on him. Shouldn't he have been wary all along?
    Simone Elkeles  --  Perfect Chemistry
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • I realized it was just his wariness of the supernatural that made him slow to respond.
    Stephenie Meyer  --  Breaking Dawn
  • wariness = caution or distrust
    (Editor's note:  The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means the quality of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)
  • The parents waited, wary of us; then at last they dropped into the garden.
    David Almond  --  Skellig
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • ...some animal thing was moving in him so that he was cautious and wary and dangerous;
    John Steinbeck  --  The Pearl
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • When he saw them he veered to the side of the road and turned and stood warily.
    Cormac McCarthy  --  The Road
  • warily = in a careful or distrustful manner
  • "That doesn't sound like you," he said, wary now.
    Stephenie Meyer  --  Eclipse
  • wary = careful or untrusting
  • His eyes were wary, reluctant.
    Stephenie Meyer  --  Twilight
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • She approached, unarmed, but Eve watched warily.
    J.D. Robb  --  Immortal in Death
  • warily = in a careful or untrusting manner
  • the empty cavern made me wary-I didn't want to speak too loudly.
    Stephenie Meyer  --  The Host
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • But everything makes me wary now.
    Kathryn Stockett  --  The Help
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • She sounded wary and glanced around, like maybe in the time since she'd last seen me I had gone over to the side of evil.
    James Patterson  --  The Angel Experiment
  • wary = careful or distrustful
  • He was wary again, on guard, distrustful.
    Robert Cormier  --  I Am the Cheese
  • wary = nervous or distrustful
  • But something made me wary.
    Don DeLillo  --  Underworld
  • wary = careful or untrusting of someone or something
  • Eragon traveled quickly and saw little of the wary wildlife.
    Christopher Paolini  --  Eragon
wary = careful or distrusting

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