Careful
Careful adjective - Having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble.
Usage example: careful drivers slow down on slick or icy roadways
Wary is a synonym for careful in cautious topic. In some cases you can use "Wary" instead the word "Careful" as an adjective or an adverb, when it comes to topics like behaviour, quality, prudent, reserved. popular alternative
Wary
Wary adjective - Having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble.
Usage example: kept a wary eye out for signs of the enemy
Careful is a synonym for wary in cautious topic. You can use "Careful" instead the word "Wary" as an adjective or an adverb, if it concerns topics such as behaviour, quality, prudent, reserved. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- Coraline. For children, it has fairly standard Aesops about being careful what you wish for and being wary of strangers.
Source: Adult Fear / Literature -
Blackbeard and Bonnet were considering taking the pardon and going straight, but they were wary; the exact conditions of this blanket pardon were subject to the interpretation of the individual colonial governors, so they had to be very careful which local authority they decided to surrender to.
Source: Useful Notes / Blackbeard
Cite this Source
Wary and Careful. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/careful/wary
Careful & Wary. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/careful/wary>.
Wary or Careful. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/careful/wary.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "careful" and "wary" have occurred on timeline