How to Use unwary in a Sentence

unwary

adjective
  • The fast-moving tide sometimes surprises unwary swimmers.
  • Last year, the Times reported, a tiger crossed paths with an unwary ranger and killed him on the spot.
    — Avi Selk, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2018
  • What bothers them are lenders who exploit the needy and unwary through excessive charges.
    — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Yet this path is laden with huge challenges and fraught with dangers that await the unwary and unprepared.
    — Thomas Lim, Forbes, 30 Aug. 2021
  • The dangerous waves can lift heavy driftwood logs and drag unwary beach goers into the ocean.
    — Emily Goodykoontz | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 23 Nov. 2019
  • That gave the attacker the chance to launch a surprise attack against an unwary Mach.
    — Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2024
  • The shorter time frame would harm unwary landowners who may not learn of the government’s actions in time to sue.
    — James S. Burling, National Review, 5 Oct. 2017
  • Snakes, eels, mollusks, eggs in turtle nests and even unwary birds are also otter fodder.
    — Shanon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, 15 Feb. 2018
  • That can be tricky, since some very common plants have proved to be invasive, and unwary gardeners might find them for sale.
    — Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, 26 May 2017
  • This presents a clear hazard for unwary small fish that happen to be in proximity when said monkfish has its mouth open.
    — David Tanis, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2017
  • The lipstick on the pale faces of Suspiria’s unwary ballerinas, and their nail polish, is red.
    — Aja Romano, Vox, 9 Nov. 2018
  • Keep cats indoors, especially at this time, when unwary youngsters are trying their wings.
    — Val Cunningham Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 8 June 2021
  • Sailors have spun yarns for centuries about gigantic rogue waves that could suddenly come out of nowhere to capsize the ships of unwary mariners.
    — Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 14 June 2023
  • And yes, microcap stocks are fertile ground for those running elaborate schemes to rip off unwary investors.
    — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020
  • Together, the unwary helper and its passenger travel in search of a new host, where the viral drama will unfold again.
    — The Conversation, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2023
  • Together, the unwary helper and its passenger travel in search of a new host, where the viral drama will unfold again.
    — Ivan Erill, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2023
  • For the flytrap, the very leaves that snap shut and ensnare unwary prey also trap sunlight for use in the photosynthetic process.
    — Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023
  • Sneaker waves -- large waves that strike without warning -- sometimes claim lives of the unwary due to their unpredictability.
    — Fox News, 20 Nov. 2019
  • The spines provide the lizard with a formidable defense against would-be predators and any unwary scientist wanting to take a closer look.
    — Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2017
  • Terrible, tentacle-waving trees snatched and swallowed unwary travelers in far-off lands.
    — Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Mar. 2022
  • Wall Street, financiers and greedy executives exploited a loophole to push these stocks to unwary investors.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes, 6 July 2022
  • The hairy frogfish, part of the anglerfish family, has fluorescent proteins in its lure, which may help attract unwary prey.
    — Smithsonian, 25 July 2019
  • Flatheads aren’t built for extended chases like their streamlined cousins, preferring instead to dart out from hiding and devour unwary prey.
    — Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • But this method can still be dangerous, with the potential for the butt of the tree (the part closest to the ground) to launch up backwards, injuring or even killing an unwary tree feller.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 11 Nov. 2021
  • And yet the Middle East has a notorious habit of surprising the unprepared and unwary.
    — Aaron David Miller and Daniel Kurtzer, CNN, 12 May 2021
  • At the center of our galaxy, there lies a black hole, which like the Rabbit of Caerbannog, fiercely devours unwary wanderers.
    — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 2 June 2017
  • Long-standing prohibitions on usury—charging outrageous interest rates to take advantage of the unwary—were stripped away.
    — Joseph E. Stiglitz, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2020
  • Almost every year a careless snowmobiler or unwary hiker dies on the ice near the Richardson Highway.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Mar. 2018
  • To tell whether the car is flooded Massive vehicle damage can result from flooding, which gives crooks a chance to swindle unwary automobile purchasers.
    — Dallas News, 9 Nov. 2022
  • Everyone has heard that commercial flights are airborne germ factories festering with all manner of nasty bugs lurking in wait to infect unwary passengers.
    — Don Sweeney, sacbee, 20 Mar. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unwary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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