as in kittenish
affecting shyness or modesty in order to attract masculine interest
an 18th-century painting of a coquettish maiden dallying with a young moonstruck gallant
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Recent Examples of coquettish
Nab this charming bag, which comes in all sorts of coquettish florals and prints that flawlessly fit the aesthetic.
—
Francesca Krempa, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
Portman added a pair of black heels with coquettish design elements, including the small bows on the front of the shoe.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025
In Libra, Venus is at home, radiating poise and coquettish charm.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
The new 14-track collection ballasts her familiar dreamy, coquettish sound with vulnerability and anguish.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 2025
Francesca Krempa, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
Portman added a pair of black heels with coquettish design elements, including the small bows on the front of the shoe.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025
In Libra, Venus is at home, radiating poise and coquettish charm.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
The new 14-track collection ballasts her familiar dreamy, coquettish sound with vulnerability and anguish.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coquettish
Adjective
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Seductively kittenish, Gardner lives up to her profane reputation.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2023
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Madelyn Cline went full-on Old Hollywood bombshell, kittenish liner, polished lengths, and all.—
Calin Van Paris,
Vogue,
15 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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Witherspoon plays it a bit more coy.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
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But the film plays so coy with its backstory, offering it in dribs and drabs, that its initial emotional tension soon turns vaporous and phony.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Her poetry carries it all—the metaphysical, the flirtatious, the unsettling, the provocative— all in such miniscule space.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
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As the shoot winds down, Köhler observes Maja and Nourou engaging in flirtatious tête-à-têtes barely hidden from view.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Fifty-two models followed her, in a dizzying array of looks: garments cut up and spliced back together with rouleau loops; hooded habits somehow rigged to float behind bodies; beaded do-rags; demure knit dresses; crocodile skin and leopard print and black latex.—
Ana Karina Zatarain,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
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Her demure manicure matched perfectly with the daring vintage Mugler dress that her stylist, Andrew Mukamal, chose for her.—
Violeta Valdés,
Glamour,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coquettish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coquettish. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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