Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

coquette

noun co·quette \ kō-ˈket \

Definition of coquette

:a woman who endeavors without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of men
  • … a narcissistic coquette addicted to … dietary fads to maintain her figure …
  • —Francine du Plessix Gray
—

coquettish

play \kō-ˈke-tish\ adjective
—

coquettishly

adverb
—

coquettishness

noun

See coquette defined for English-language learners

See coquette defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59e8af1b31525
Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'
one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Examples of coquette in a Sentence

  1. She was a bit of a coquette.

Recent Examples of coquette from the Web

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

Origin and Etymology of coquette

French, feminine of coquet — see 1coquet

COQUETTE Defined for English Language Learners

coquette

noun

Definition of coquette for English Language Learners

  • : a woman who likes to win the attention or admiration of men but does not have serious feelings for them

Learn More about coquette

  1. See words that rhyme with coquette

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up coquette? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

adversity

play

serious difficulty or misfortune

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. imbroglio "a public scandal"

  2. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  3. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  4. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  5. mike "microphone"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

The Exceptions Quiz III

  • one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
  • Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Where did we get 'freshman' and 'sophomore'?

alt-59e900afadac6
The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

alt-59e8c3440f453
I'll Have the Us(ual)

Shortening 'usual': easy to say, hard to spell

alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game
Examples: coquette in a Sentence