cagey

adjective

ca·gey | \ ˈkā-jē

variants: or less commonly cagy

cagier; cagiest

Definition of cagey

1 : hesitant about committing oneself officials are cagey about giving out details

2a : wary of being trapped or deceived : shrewd a cagey consumer

b : marked by cleverness a cagey reply

Other Words from cagey Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about cagey

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Other Words from cagey

cagily \ ˈkā-jə-lē

\ adverb

caginess or less commonly cageyness \ ˈkā-jē-nəs

\ noun

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 on the Web

Marvel has been cagey so far about its post-Avengers: Endgame film plans, but sequels for Doctor Strange and Black Panther are in the works, and Scarlett Johansson is currently filming a standalone Black Widow movie. — Devan Coggan, EW.com, "Marvel really wants to make a movie with Keanu Reeves," 20 June 2019 Last August, Burrage and her colleagues posted a paper on the scientific preprint site arxiv.org suggesting a way to lay a trap for these cagey cosmic chameleons. — Quanta Magazine, "Dark Energy Tested on a Tabletop," 31 Mar. 2015 After starting very cagey, this game was really starting to open up. — SI.com, "Arsenal Withstands CSKA Moscow Comeback, Reaches Europa League Semifinals," 12 Apr. 2018 The Petrel team has been a little cagey about Hornet's precise location, and for good reason. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Explorers Discover the Wreck of the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet, Sunk in World War II," 12 Feb. 2019 It’s hard to put that in perspective because most boat companies are notoriously cagey about listing prices, but a Sea Fox 226 Commander center console shows a dealer asking $66,995 with a 200-hp Yamaha and no trailer. — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "Testing the Yamaha 210 FSH: The Boat That Blew Up the Formula," 31 Aug. 2018 Five submarines are participating in RIMPAC, but authorities are being a little cagey about which ones. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Here Are the 50-Plus Ships That Participated in the Navy's Pacific Wargames," 2 Aug. 2018 Egypt coach Hector Cuper, was cagey when asked Sunday about Kadyrov's use of Salah to make political gains. — Hemza Hendawi, chicagotribune.com, "Reports: Salah considering retirement from Egypt due to Chechnya controversy," 25 June 2018 Whilst Gracia took some positives from today's game, such as the return of Craig Cathcart, his team were largely toothless, creating few chances in a cagey game. — SI.com, "Javi Gracia Bemoans 'Cruel' Game as Late Huddersfield Strike Denies Watford a Deserved Draw," 15 Apr. 2018

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.

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Last Updated

23 Jun 2019

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Time Traveler for cagey

The first known use of cagey was in 1876

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More Definitions for cagey

cagey

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of cagey

: not willing to say everything that you know about something

: careful to avoid being trapped or tricked

: very clever

See the full definition for cagey in the English Language Learners Dictionary

cagey

adjective

ca·gey | \ ˈkā-jē

cagier; cagiest

Kids Definition of cagey

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