Wary about appearing crooked (4)
I believe the answer is:
awry
'crooked' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'wary about' is the wordplay.
'about' indicates an anagram.
'wary' with letters rearranged gives 'AWRY'.
'appearing' is the link.
(Other definitions for awry that I've seen before include "Haywire" , "Twisted; distorted" , "(Gone) askew" , "Uneven, crooked" , "turning to one side" .)