coquette

noun

co·​quette kō-ˈket 

plural coquettes

1

: a woman who endeavors without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of men

… the book brought to mind a true Southern coquette, flashy and sweet and alluring all at the same time.

—Tina Jordan

2

: any of several small, tropical American hummingbirds (genus Lophornis) with the males typically having a colorful or ornate tuft of feathers on the head

… the rufous-crested coquette, a tiny hummingbird (with a red mohawk "hair-do") that was just as … flirty as its name.

—Thelma Dalmas

But the tiniest of these hummers was the one that elicited the most excitement: a festive coquette, an extremely rare green-crested bird with a white rump patch, only 3 inches long.

—James F. McCarty

coquettish

kō-ˈke-tish 

adjective

coquettishly adverb

coquettishness noun

Examples of coquette in a Sentence

She was a bit of a coquette.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kelly Rutherford brought the coquette trend to the second annual Outdoor Film Festival in San Valentino Torio, Italy on Friday. —Hannah Malach, WWD, 7 July 2024

Thanks to stars like Kendall Jenner and Selena Gomez, coquette style is still trending for spring, but in a more refined way. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 1 Apr. 2024

While coquette is defined by soft pastels, lace and pearls, romantic florals, and old English elegance, grunge coquette adds a jagged feel with darker colors, distressed details, and gothic accents. —Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Mar. 2024

The whole thing managed to repackage the hyper-feminine clichés beloved by #coquettes as something dark and mysterious and even funereal. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, feminine of coquet — see coquet entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

coquette

noun

co·​quette kō-ˈket 

: a woman who tries without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of men : flirt

coquettish

-ˈket-ish 

adjective

coquettishly adverb

coquettishness noun