wariness
/ˈwɛːrɪnəs
/noun [mass noun]
1Caution about possible dangers or problems: her mother’s wariness of computers...
- Officials from the Fire Island National Seashore, whose boundaries encompass all Fire Island communities, have expressed wariness of such projects.
- He said he was concerned about the understandable wariness of GPs to become involved in child protection work.
- He has detected wariness among more conservative institutions to finance a venture in fashion.
Synonyms
caution, carefulness, care, circumspection, prudence, guardedness, alertness, attention, heed, heedfulness, watchfulness, vigilance, observance, awareness, mindfulness, canniness;
hesitance, hesitancy, hesitation, timidness, timidity, timorousness
1.1Lack of trust; suspicion: they had all regarded her with wariness...
- Far from responding like innocent dupes, we armed ourselves with wariness.
- Quigley depicts the changing relationship between the two women superbly, their initial wariness ringing with psychological acuity.
- Most of my interaction with the islanders was made treacherous by currents of wariness.
Synonyms
suspicion, distrust, mistrust, caution, unease, scepticism, doubt, chariness
informal caginess