cagey

ca·gey

adjective \ˈkā-jē\

ca·gi·erca·gi·est

Definition of CAGEY

1

: hesitant about committing oneself <officials are cagey about giving out details>

2

a : wary of being trapped or deceived : shrewd <a cagey consumer>

b : marked by cleverness <a cagey reply>

— ca·gi·ly \-jə-lē\ adverb

— ca·gi·ness also ca·gey·ness \-jē-nəs\ noun

Variants of CAGEY

ca·gey also ca·gy \ˈkā-jē\

Examples of CAGEY

1. <a cagey old politician who is exceptionally skilled at getting federal money for his district>
2. <when it came time to sign the contract, he suddenly got cagey about taking on the job>

Origin of CAGEY

origin unknown

First Known Use: circa 1893

Related to CAGEY

Synonyms

beguiling, artful (also cagy), crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, dodgy [chiefly British], foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily

Antonyms

artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning

Related Words

astute, facile, glib, sharp; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous; backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced; circuitous, circular, roundabout; clandestine, concealed, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover; calculating, plotting

Near Antonyms

obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed; aboveboard, candid, direct, forthright, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, straightforward, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished; childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly; unforced, unstudied; trustful, trusting

Rhymes with CAGEY

stagy