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leery

adj
/ˈlɪəɹi/UK/ˈlɪɹi//ˈlɪɚi/US

Etymology

First attested in 1718, “untrustful, suspicious”, either from leer (“sideward look”) + -y, lear (“learning, knowledge”) + -y. More at leer, lear.

  1. derived from *ḱlew-✻
  2. derived from *ḱlews-✻ — “temple of the forehead, cheek”
  3. inherited from *hleuzą✻ — “ear, cheek”
  4. inherited from *hleuʀ✻
  5. inherited from hlēor — “face, cheek, profile”
  6. inherited from ler
  7. suffixed as leery — “leer + y”

Definitions

  1. Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something

    Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns.

    • Since he was bitten by a dog when he was young, he has always been leery of animals.
    • “[…]He was one of their top gun-fighters—always up to his ears in the thick of any fightin' that was goin' on. He never was leery of anything on two feet, I'll say that much for'm.”

  2. Sly

    Sly; artful; knowing.

  3. Leering

    Leering; lecherous or unpleasant.

    • And there was a particularly brutal villain with leery eyes, ugly mouth, with one tooth gone, and an iron jaw like a hull-dog's.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for leery. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA