unwary

adjective

un·​wary ˌən-ˈwer-ē 

: not alert : easily fooled or surprised : heedless, gullible

cheats unwary tourists

unwarily

ˌən-ˈwer-ə-lē 

adverb

unwariness

ˌən-ˈwer-ē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• aw-shucks
• dewy
• dewy-eyed
• green
• ingenuous
• innocent
• naïf
• naif
• naive
• naïve
• primitive
• simple
• simpleminded
• uncritical
• unknowing
• unsophisticated
• unsuspecting
• unsuspicious
• unworldly
• wide-eyed

Examples of unwary in a Sentence

The fast-moving tide sometimes surprises unwary swimmers.

e-mail scams that take advantage of unwary recipients

Recent Examples on the Web

Some of these bad actors are even setting up fake Hugging Face profiles to pose as Meta or other technology companies to lure downloads from the unwary, according to Swanson. —Iain Martin, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

To joke about faking the moon landing while faking romance is a twisted attempt at keeping us gullible and unwary. —Armond White, National Review, 17 July 2024

Unless accelerated by a tanning bed, skin damage can take years, if not decades to develop, experts say, leaving today’s unwary youth at risk for early skin aging and lethal skin cancers such as melanoma. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 21 June 2024

That gave the attacker the chance to launch a surprise attack against an unwary Mach. —Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

unwary

adjective

un·​wary ˌən-ˈwa(ə)r-ē 

-ˈwe(ə)r-,

ˈən-

: not alert : easily fooled or surprised : heedless, gullible

the unwary buyer

unwarily

-ˈwar-ə-lē 

-ˈwer-

adverb

unwariness

-ˈwar-ē-nəs 

-ˈwer-

noun