Jacqueline FitzgeraldYaron SteinbuchKayla WalshWilliam Makepeace Thackeray
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In the nearly seven centuries that demure has been in use, its meaning has only shifted slightly. While it began solely as a descriptive term for people of quiet modesty and sedate reserve—those who don't draw attention to themselves, whether because of a shy nature or determined self-control—it came to be applied also to those whose modesty and reservation is more affectation than sincere expression. While demure sounds French and entered the language at a time when the native tongue of England was borrowing many French words from the Normans, the etymological evidence requires that we exercise restraint: the word's origin remains obscure.
Examples of demure in a Sentence
Jessica Mehalic, Cosmopolitan, August 2001
It looked as though the dress and capelet were one piece. It created a demure look, but if you take off the capelet, it's a seductive strapless dress.
—Elizabeth Hayt, Vogue, December 1999
I made a lot of friends at Les Tourelles with whom I have kept in touch over the years. There was one darling little girl, much younger than the rest of us, who was sweet, demure, and quiet, with beautiful long hair like Alice in Wonderland.
—Anna Russell, I'm Not Making This Up, You Know, 1985
She was wearing a demure gray suit.
the demure charm of the cottage
Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 18 June 2025
At the same time, a more demure set of scientists was quietly laying the foundation for the renovation of social Darwinism in mainstream biological thinking.
—Erik Baker, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The steeliness that Lucy exudes, despite her almost demure exterior, is her emotional armor.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
Norma Shearer, an M-G-M star who became his wife, told the tale of meeting him for the first time and taking him for a demure office boy.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for demure
Cite this Entry
“Demure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demure. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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demure
adjective
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