1
as in coquettish
affecting shyness or modesty in order to attract masculine interest
the previously demure maiden began making some surprisingly shocking remarks
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2
as in shy
not comfortable around people
hesitant and demure, she hardly spoke a word at the banquet table
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in meek
not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness
wore a very demure outfit to the interview for the job at the church's headquarters
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Recent Examples of demure
Guardiola, usually a manager who passionately cajoles his players on the sidelines, cut a far more demure figure in the second half.
—
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
The pageant’s swimsuit (read: bikini) contest meanwhile endures, years after competitions like Miss World and Miss America ditched theirs in favor of marginally more demure alternatives, such as athleisure parades.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu knew that wouldn't work on the big screen, and opted for his Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) to take a more demure approach (including one fantastically cozy sweater robe).
—Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Nov. 2025
Sofia the First boasts a princess who is not demure, but instead loves adventure and stands up for what’s right.
—Taylor Grothe, Parents, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demure
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
The pageant’s swimsuit (read: bikini) contest meanwhile endures, years after competitions like Miss World and Miss America ditched theirs in favor of marginally more demure alternatives, such as athleisure parades.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu knew that wouldn't work on the big screen, and opted for his Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) to take a more demure approach (including one fantastically cozy sweater robe).
—Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Nov. 2025
Sofia the First boasts a princess who is not demure, but instead loves adventure and stands up for what’s right.
—Taylor Grothe, Parents, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demure
Adjective
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Additional coquettish details came from ruffles at the bodice of the dress and lace peeking above the neckline.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Simply brushing them out of your eyes can feel like a coquettish, kittenish gesture!—
Kara Nesvig,
Allure,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Gone is the shy 21-year-old who talked effusively about figure skating, replaced by a young man whose words come in measured and concrete thoughts about a larger purpose.—
Les Carpenter,
Washington Post,
19 Feb. 2026
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Luckily Fleming, a theater graduate who was also one credit shy of a minor in dance, has an arsenal of tools at his disposal to achieve this clarity.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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At the film’s center is Seyo Kim (Chen Emilie Yan), a meek state lawyer looking to make a difference, but who accepts, with begrudging sighs, her department’s 80% rate of dropping hate crime prosecutions as just another part of the job.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
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Tushtu, the meekest, frailest of the chanters, trailing at the back, stopped to turn towards Charu with a sly grin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Twyla Tharp’s ballet Push Comes to Shove, which premiered in 1976, startled and delighted audiences with its coy, self-referential humor, and its flirtation with popular dance styles such as jazz and tango.—
Sara Krolewski,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2026
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Aguilera was coy in her pose, covering her chest while displaying her cleavage and letting her jewelry do the talking.—
Michelle Lee,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Parents report that many children stop eating, lose weight and become withdrawn.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
6 Feb. 2026
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The Flynns’ pompous neighbor, Jim Doherty, a divorcé with a withdrawn, unpleasant son, encourages Catherine’s artistic rebirth.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Oseguera is said to have begun his storied career in humble fashion, as a small-time drug dealer in California.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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In the right hands, even the humblest city EV can become an unhinged, albeit highly entertaining, tire-shredding science experiment.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Simply brushing them out of your eyes can feel like a coquettish, kittenish gesture!—
Kara Nesvig,
Allure,
9 Feb. 2026
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Seductively kittenish, Gardner lives up to her profane reputation.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2023
Adjective
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Meanwhile, some of Brady’s former teammates with the Patriots weren’t bashful about their loyalty heading into Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, including Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Feb. 2026
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Next was a bashful grad student from Columbia’s engineering school who could not make eye contact.—
The Editors,
Curbed,
15 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demure. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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