wariness.

Cautious watchfulness arising from a sense that something may be dangerous or unreliable.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• healthy wariness
• regard with wariness
• wariness of strangers

On the page

The horse approached the unfamiliar ramp with wariness.

Years of fraudulent offers had taught her a useful wariness.

His wariness faded when the guide answered every question directly.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Often protective and rational, not cowardly; less accusatory than suspicion. Usually uncountable in this sense. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): wary.