coy

1 of 2

adjective

1
a
: marked by cute, coquettish, or artful playfulness
using coy tricks to attract attention
b
: shrinking from contact or familiarity
"'Tis but a kiss I beg, Why art thou coy?"William Shakespeare
2
: showing reluctance to make a definite commitment
a coy response
coyly adverb
coyness noun

coy

2 of 2

verb

coyed; coying; coys

transitive verb

obsolete : caress

intransitive verb

archaic : to act coyly (see coy entry 1)
Choose the Right Synonym for coy

shy, bashful, diffident, modest, coy mean not inclined to be forward.

shy implies a timid reserve and a shrinking from familiarity or contact with others.

shy with strangers

bashful implies a frightened or hesitant shyness characteristic of childhood and adolescence.

a bashful boy out on his first date

diffident stresses a distrust of one's own ability or opinion that causes hesitation in acting or speaking.

felt diffident about raising an objection

modest suggests absence of undue confidence or conceit.

modest about her success

coy implies a pretended shyness.

put off by her coy manner

Examples of coy in a Sentence

Adjective It is distinctly odd to read a whole page dedicated to Hitler's life and character without a reference to his anti-Semitism. To say that Swiss banks contained gold coming from the bank accounts, the jewelry boxes, and the teeth of "concentration camp victims" is a little coy. Ian Buruma, New Republic, 31 Jan. 2000
Rival camps are terrified that Bush will reject federal matching funds and the campaign-spending limits they impose, and Bush's aides are coy on the subject. John F. Dickerson, Time, 8 Mar. 1999
And there's Julia, the charming "chatterbot" (a text-based computer character), whose coy pickup banter echoes that of real-life Internet flirts. Michiko Kakutani, Albany (New York) Times-Union, 20 Aug. 1997
I didn't like her coy manner. He gave a coy answer.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Earlier in the week Harbaugh was coy about Herbert’s status. Jay Paris, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 Bravo is coy about the second half of the season, now streaming, offering chuckles that signal his character’s roller-coaster journey is bracing for another drop. Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024 Isaacman then hopes to launch a second Polaris Dawn mission on Crew Dragon in the coming years, possibly a mission to boost NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope—although Isaacman was coy about that prospect, and NASA has not yet given its approval. Jonathan O’Callaghan, WIRED, 10 Sep. 2024 Zwift is being unusually coy about this one, though. Andrew Williams, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for coy 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Verb

Middle English, quiet, shy, from Anglo-French quoi, quei, koi quiet, from Latin quietus

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of coy was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near coy

Cite this Entry

“Coy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coy. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

coy

adjective
ˈkȯi
1
2
: marked by cute or sly playfulness or pretended shyness
using coy tricks to attract attention
coyly adverb
coyness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on coy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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