I’ll 'fess up to the woy-yer pronunciation. Three syllables just sounds weird to me.
FWIW, I grew up in the midwest.
Odd. Normally I would say “WAR-ee-er”. But if I am feeling rushed, I might slur it to “WAR-yer”.
Grew up in New England, FWIW.
I think a critical component in this question depends on the pronunciation of war and wor. The latter portion of i-er, yer, yor, i-or and other variations like them probably depend on the speed of elocution and the desire to be precise and they may vary even by the same speaker at times.
In passing I will say that Wah-yah or Waw-yuh is one variation I have heard in the Deep South where no “r” i audible at all.
But to distinguish between “war” as a stand-alone noun about conflict and “wor” as the first syllable in “worry” may be needed before any more precision is available.
My own pronunciation when the word is a key component of the sentence would be War-i-yer or War-yer or War-yuh, all with “war” as in World War X.
I cringe when I hear Allen Dershowitz pronounce “juror” as “jew-rah” and I would suspect his pronunciation of “warrior” would be equally quaint.
Wendigo, don’t forget that you ear has a role in this, too. In some cases where you’re not making out the intervocalic “r”, the speaker may well swear up and down that yes, in fact, they are pronouncing an “r”. Sometimes, the “r” so pronounced may be below your personal auditory threshhold to distinguish. Other times, from speakers of different dialects, that intevocalic “r” will much more prominent to you.
And at other times still, your ear will be correct and the American will fess up to pronouncing “waw-yer” or “woyyer”. I’d bet, without researching, that this represents less than one in ten American speakers when “warrior” is pronounced in isolation (not in a stream of speech).
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Ron B, the South, as always, will present a mixed bag here. Lived in Louisiana and Mississippi all my life – I say it with three syllables just like Valgard, panache, and Johnny L.A.
“Wor-i-er” here.
And also, Navajo has nothing to do with it. And for the record, that’s just a weird idea.
-FrL-
Just on the other side of the Mississippi of Zeldar, I pronounce it “War yer”.
My wife and I were just discussing this yesterday. I grew up in eastern PA. I pronounce it “war-ee-ers.” (3 syllables) But our high school cheerleaders always pronounced it as a single syllable, “LET’S GO WOYRS!” I just find it funny that they never made it three syllables in their cheers.
Central Indiana, middle-size town. I say war-ee-er.
I have heard woy-er a lot, though. Usually, the same people say World Wore Too.
Never mind Woy-er, why am I hearing “Turlet” instead of toilet on so many American TV shows?
Turlet is upsetting to me.
Warrior (“Wor-yer”) is a lot like Washington (“Wor-shing-tun”). Some of us 'Murkins pronounce the "R"s and some of us don’t. 
Ditto, and I live in NY.
ETA: And I have never heard the Woyer pronunciation.
I pronounce it the same way as the pop song “Shootin’ at the walls of heartache, bang, bang, I am the warrior”. All syllables, and an aw sound in the first one.
I have that thing where I can’t really say “r” correctly, so my results may not be typical, but I say “wuryer”, first syllable is similar to the way a Missourian says “wash” but without the “sh”. Kind of “worrier” but not exactly.
Colorado, but I make no claim that anyone else in the state pronounces it this way.
You mean there are dialects where “war” and “wore” are not homonyms? What’s the difference in pronunciation?
I think the word “warrior” is properly pronounced “war-ee-er,” but it generally comes out as “war-yer” when said quickly. And the “war” part, of course, is pronounced “wore.”
War has a more open vowel sound. Say “wore,” then say it again with your mouth more open, particularly get the sides of your mouth to open rather than keeping your lips in the O shape.
I know some Pennsylvanians who say “war” as “wore,” but the only Clevelanders who say it that way moved here from Pittsburgh.
Here’s an example of a fairly common American pronunciation of
war.
[del](Tennesee-Ohio, apparently).[/del]
Come on, it’s obviously three syllables, just like “play” is two, as in
“War-ri-ors… come out to pla-ay!” <clink clink clink>
Tomndebb’s explanation is spot on, but depending on the dialect you grew up with, your ear may well not be able to distinguish the difference without training. Fortunately, such training can be pretty informal – ask around, find someone who pronounces them differently, and have them pronounce them for you over and over. You may catch on quick, or it may take a while.
A day late and a link short. see post 15
South Carolina born and bred: “war-yer” or “war-ee-er.” I have heard the “woy-er” pronunciation from a few people, though.
It’s no weirder than when people pronounce “lawyer” as “loyer,” I think, and that’s fairly common.
RR