cagey

play

adjective ca·gey \ ˈkā-jē \

variants: or less commonly cagy

Definition of cagey

cagier; cagiest

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

—

cagily

play \-jə-lē\ adverb

—

caginess

or less commonly cageyness play \-jē-nəs\ noun

See cagey defined for English-language learners

See cagey defined for kids

Examples of cagey in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of cagey from the Web

The past few weeks of quarterback drama were not a mind game on McElwain’s part to get under the skin of the notoriously cagey Harbaugh.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Between Suspensions and QB Questions, Don't Expect Clarity From Michigan-Florida," 30 Aug. 2017
Starbucks remains cagey about the exact date its explosively popular Pumpkin Spice Latte will return to stores, but the release is definitely inching closer.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Starbucks' cryptic tweet could mean pumpkin spice lattes are landing very soon," 30 Aug. 2017
Kylie’s commissioned two custom millennial-pink gowns from Versace: The first, a cagey-mermaid look that took 350 hours to make, causes Kylie to trip over the train.

— mariah smith, The Cut, "It Would Be Nice to See Kylie Jenner Do Something for a Friend for Once," 28 Aug. 2017
In the United States, Toyota’s official response is a little more cagey.

— bengt halvorson, Car and Driver, "Toyota Teases Solid-State Battery Breakthrough; Elon Musk Skeptical," 23 Aug. 2017
But Lavrov, at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Moscow, remained cagey about the Kremlin’s next move.

— david filipov, Washington Post, "U.S. halts visas for Russians, deepening a diplomatic spat," 21 Aug. 2017
Matt Yglesias, for one, thinks that could happen given the cagey positioning of Senate moderates.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Another Day, Another Scary CBO Score of Another Trumpcare Bill," 20 July 2017
The first leg ended 0-0 – a cagey affair in which neither side were able to get the breakthrough goal.

— SI.com, "Sheffield Wednesday vs Huddersfield Town Match Preview: Classic Encounter, Team News & More," 19 July 2017
The cagey play continued into the second half, with Vidal's wayward header the only real opportunity over the opening 10 minutes.

— si.com staff, SI.com, "Watch: Bravo heroic in penalties as Chile outlasts Portugal to reach Confed Cup final," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cagey.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cagey

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1876

See Words from the same year

cagey Synonyms

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

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

CAGEY Defined for English Language Learners

cagey

play

adjective

Definition of cagey for English Language Learners

: not willing to say everything that you know about something
: careful to avoid being trapped or tricked
: very clever

CAGEY Defined for Kids

cagey

play

adjective ca·gey \ ˈkā-jē \

Definition of cagey for Students

cagier; cagiest

1 :unwilling to act or speak in a direct or open way

He was cagey about his intentions.

2 :clever in a tricky way

… those cagey girls … managed … to have all the fun and leave him and their mother with all the work.
—Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia

Learn More about cagey

See words that rhyme with cagey Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cagey Spanish Central: Translation of cagey Nglish: Translation of cagey for Spanish speakers

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cagey

Definition of cagey

cagily

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CAGEY Defined for English Language Learners

cagey

Definition of cagey for English Language Learners

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