leery.

Distrustfully cautious about a person, proposal, or possible risk.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• leery of strangers
• leery of a deal
• understandably leery

On the page

She was leery of a guide who refused to show identification.

After the first collapse, workers were leery of the repaired platform.

I am leery of any plan that removes the emergency exits.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Conversational, especially American; more suspicious than simple nervousness. Usually leery of, not merely afraid of. Gradable with more/most; no inflectional endings normally needed. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): leeriness.