Word Confusion: Wary versus Weary

Posted May 25, 2021 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
11 Jan 2023

Be wary of weary . . . in fact, be wary of anyone who’s weary. They tend to lash out.

The wary are worried, on guard against something. Think beware, aware.

The weary are exhausted . . . probably from all that wariness.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Wary	Weary
Wary Dog by Ihtar is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.	Weary Traveller by John Brighenti is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective	Adjective; Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: wearies Past tense or past participle: wearied Present participle: wearying
Feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems Watchful Being on one’s guard against danger Arising from or characterized by caution	Adjective: Feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep Reluctant to see or experience any more of Tired of Calling for a great amount of energy or endurance Tiring and tedious Physically or mentally exhausted by hard work, exertion, strain, etc. Fatigued Tired Characterized by or causing fatigue Impatient or dissatisfied with something (often followed by of) Characterized by or causing impatience or dissatisfaction Tedious Irksome Verb: To make or become tired Fatigue or tire To make or grow impatient or dissatisfied with something or at having too much of something (often followed by of) Verb, intransitive: [weary of] Grow tired of or bored with Verb, transitive: Cause to become tired
Examples:
Dogs that have been mistreated often remain very wary of strangers. She gave him a wary look. Cellphone users should be wary of apps that track their Internet usage. He was truly despairing, but the muted female voice was firm, but understandably wary. Perhaps he is wary of appearing to be an apologist in the eyes of his western readers. Mr Fisher says that with the advent of new technology teachers need to be wary.	Adjective: He gave a long, weary sigh. Her eyes were weary after all those hours on the computer. A weary brain will miss important clues. She was weary of their constant arguments. They were war-weary Americans. The weary journey began again. It was a weary wait. Verb: The long hours of work have wearied me. The long drive had wearied us of desert scenery. We had quickly wearied at such witless entertainment. Verb, intransitive: She wearied of the sameness of her life. Indeed, if they find themselves restrained by a new gripping torpor, they will soon weary of being part of the EU family. While the money can be fantastic, many quickly weary of the life. Verb, transitive: She was wearied by her persistent cough. They were both dirty and tired-looking, wearied by the journey. Save for the rifles, there appeared to be no difference between exhausted captive and wearied captor.
Derivatives:
Adjective: overwary, warier, wariest Adverb: warily Noun: wariness	Adjective: wearier, weariest, weariless, wearying Adverb: wearyingly Noun: wearying
History of the Word:
Late 15th century, from the Old English wær, which is from the Germanic base of Old English warian meaning be on one’s guard, from a Germanic base meaning observe, take care + -y.	Old English wērig, wǣrig, is of West Germanic origin.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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