warily

wary +‎ -ly

warily (comparative more warily, superlative most warily)

1. In a careful and guarded manner, especially to avoid potential danger or harm.

   Synonyms: cautiously, vigilantly, carefully, prudently

   She walked through the dark alley, warily glancing around to make sure she wasn't being followed.

   • 1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 6, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, 1914 June, →OCLC:

     That her little Tarzan could destroy a great bull gorilla she knew to be improbable, and so, as she neared the spot from which the sounds of the struggle had come, she moved more warily and at last slowly and with extreme caution she traversed the lowest branches, peering eagerly into the moon- splashed blackness for a sign of the combatants.

2. Without trust; in a manner showing a lack of trust.

   Synonyms: suspiciously, distrustfully, skeptically

   He listened to the salesman's pitch warily, sensing a potential scam.

   • 2017 January 14, “Thailand's new king rejects the army's proposed constitution”, in The Economist‎:

     The new king is viewed warily by Bangkok's elites, who have sometimes worried that he sympathises with populist politicians whom the army has twice kicked from power.