leary
leary is the alternative spelling of leery.
Meaning of leery
Adjective
leery (comparative leerier, superlative leeriest)
- 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.
- Sly; artful; knowing.
- 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.1902, Francis Hopkinson Smith, chapter X, in The Fortunes of Oliver Horn
Proper noun capitalized: Leary
Leary (plural Learys)
- A surname from Irish, an alternate anglicization of Ó Laoghaire (literally “descendant of Leary”) (O'Leary).
- A male given name from Irish Laoghaire, from Old Irish Lóegaire (literally “calf-herder”).
- A male or female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.
- A city in Georgia, United States.
- A city in Texas, United States.
Forms of leary
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | learier |
| superlative | leariest |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Learys |
Words formed from leary
Phrases with leary
Questions about leary
- What does leary mean?
- Leary means a surname from Irish, an alternate anglicization of Ó Laoghaire (literally “descendant of Leary”) (O'Leary).
- What is leary the alternative spelling of?
- Leary is the alternative spelling of leery.
- What part of speech is leary?
- Leary is a proper noun.
Words near leary in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: leary (page history and authors); Leary (page history and authors); leery (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “leary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/leary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.