as in wary
having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble
chary investors who weren't burned by the dot-com bust
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Recent Examples of chary
With that, many corporate leaders are chary about overreacting to the workforce disruption concern.
—
Michael Peregrine, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
He’s not as guarded or chary as he was immersed in the Boston Baseball Experience, where one wrong step or word can spark furor.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
Beautiful is a strong word, and artists, critics and scholars are chary of it.
—Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2021
Knox was a bit chary on specifics, but no athlete allows that many injections without asking questions.
—Richard A. Lovett, Outside Online, 1 Sep. 2021
With a writer so chary of detail, the reader rushes to fill in.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
That tone is most obvious in the author’s chary regard of his icon.
—John Semley, The New Republic, 26 May 2021
A lot of people were mildly chary of its prospects.
—The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021
Evangelical Christians, traditionally chary of getting involved in partisan politics.
—Rick Perlstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020
Michael Peregrine, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
He’s not as guarded or chary as he was immersed in the Boston Baseball Experience, where one wrong step or word can spark furor.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
Beautiful is a strong word, and artists, critics and scholars are chary of it.
—Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2021
Knox was a bit chary on specifics, but no athlete allows that many injections without asking questions.
—Richard A. Lovett, Outside Online, 1 Sep. 2021
With a writer so chary of detail, the reader rushes to fill in.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
That tone is most obvious in the author’s chary regard of his icon.
—John Semley, The New Republic, 26 May 2021
A lot of people were mildly chary of its prospects.
—The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021
Evangelical Christians, traditionally chary of getting involved in partisan politics.
—Rick Perlstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chary
Adjective
-
Low days supply means vehicles are selling quickly and demand is strong, while a high days supply indicates sales are slow or dealers are carrying too much inventory—consumers may be wary.—
Michael Harley,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
But the Fed has been wary, concerned of triggering higher inflation.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Employers increasingly wonder whether campuses are cultivating independent thinkers or just cautious followers.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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The sum dwarfs most acquisitions this year — and marks TIFF’s first eight-figure deal in several editions — underlining the resilience of genre cinema at a time when studios and streamers alike are cautious.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But Eliasen is careful not to let scope creep derail initial implementations.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chary. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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