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
The Charter chief was also decidedly coy when asked about Wall Street chatter around his company considering a takeover of rival cable TV operator Altice USA. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 Timberlake noticed the comments, and ended up responding to one in a coy follow-up video shared on Wednesday (Feb. 28). Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024 Pak was also coy about sharing what materials the ring is made from, but says Samsung has durability in mind. Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024 The producers play it coy when asked if Flower will ever appear again. Michael Schneider, Variety, 16 Feb. 2024 Still, one imagines that the coy innuendos of ‘Brand New Key’ resonated for, say, Madonna, in a way that Carole King or Roberta Flack never did. Paul Grein, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2024 Rather than Capri, who was tagged in the caption, approaching to work on the actress’ tresses, however, Hough went to town on her own hair in the clip, chopping away with a coy smile. Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 8 Jan. 2024 Cox is getting his own Disney+ show, Daredevil: Born Again, and reports emerged over the summer that Garner will reprise her role in the upcoming Deadpool 3, though Marvel hasn't commented and the actress has remained coy. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 29 Nov. 2023 While Jenner and Chalamet have kept things coy and have rarely stepped out in public, the couple hit the town together last night, and they couldn’t be dressed more differently. Christian Allaire, Vogue, 12 Nov. 2023

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 29 Mar. 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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