cagey

1 clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means a cagey old politician who is exceptionally skilled at getting federal money for his district Synonyms beguiling, artful (also cagy), crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, dodgy [chiefly British], foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wilyRelated Words astute, facile, glib, sharp; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous; backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced; circuitous, circular, roundabout; clandestine, concealed, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover; calculating, plottingNear Antonyms obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed; aboveboard, candid, direct, forthright, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, straightforward, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished; childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly; unforced, unstudied; trustful, trustingAntonyms artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning

2 slow to begin or proceed with a course of action because of doubts or uncertainty when it came time to sign the contract, he suddenly got cagey about taking on the job Synonyms hesitant (also cagy), disinclined, dubious, indisposed, loath (also loth or loathe), reluctant, reticentRelated Words uneager, unenthusiastic; averse, unwilling; ambivalent, conflicted, doubtful, faltering, halting, indecisive, infirm, irresolute, questioning, skeptical, uncertain, undecided, unsure, vacillating, wobbly (also wabbly); fainthearted, shy, timidNear Antonyms eager, enthusiastic, glad, happy, keen; ready, willing; certain, decided, determined, resolute, sure, unquestioningAntonyms disposed, inclined