- leery
- leer|y [ `lıri ] adjective INFORMALif you are leery of someone, you do not trust them
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.
leery
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leery — I adjective afraid, apprehensive, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, distrustful, doubtful, doubting, dubious, entertaining suspicion, frightened, guarded, heedful, hesitant, hesitating, in doubt, mistrustful, questioning, shy of, skeptical,… … Law dictionary
leery — untrusting, suspicious, alert, 1718, originally slang, with Y (Cf. y) (2), and perhaps from dialectal lere learning, knowledge (see LORE (Cf. lore)), or from LEER (Cf. leer) (v.) in some now obscure sense. OED suggests connection with archaic… … Etymology dictionary
leery — [adj] suspicious careful, cautious, chary, distrustful, doubting, dubious, on one’s guard*, shy, skeptical, uncertain, unsure, wary; concept 529 Ant. certain, sure, unwary … New thesaurus
leery — ► ADJECTIVE (leerier, leeriest) ▪ cautious or wary. DERIVATIVES leeriness noun. ORIGIN from obsolete leer «looking askance», from LEER(Cf. ↑leer) … English terms dictionary
leery — [lir′ē] adj. leerier, leeriest [prob. < ME lere (var. of lore, LORE1) + Y3: current sense infl. by LEER] 1. Obs. knowing ☆ 2. on one s guard; wary; suspicious … English World dictionary
leery — [[t]lɪ͟əri[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu v link ADJ, oft ADJ of/about n If you are leery of something, you are cautious and suspicious about it and try to avoid it. [INFORMAL] Executives say they are leery of the proposed system... They were leery… … English dictionary
leery — UK [ˈlɪərɪ] / US [ˈlɪrɪ] adjective Word forms leery : adjective leery comparative leerier superlative leeriest informal if you are leery of someone, you do not trust them … English dictionary
leery — adj. leery of * * * [ lɪ(ə)rɪ] leery of … Combinatory dictionary
leery — leer|y [ˈlıəri US ˈlıri] adj informal [Date: 1700 1800; Origin: Perhaps from leer cheek ; LEER] careful in the way that you deal with something or someone because you do not trust them = ↑wary leery of ▪ I was very leery of him after I found out… … Dictionary of contemporary English
leery — I. /ˈlɪəri / (say learree) Colloquial –adjective 1. doubtful; suspicious: *Maybe she didn t like the new kid because she was so leery of his mother. –t.a.g. hungerford, 1983. 2. knowing; sly. –phrase 3. leery of the brush, (of a man) nervous… …
leery — also leary adjective Date: 1896 suspicious, wary often used with of < leery of strangers > … New Collegiate Dictionary
