coy
adjective
artfully or affectedly shy or reserved; slyly hesitant; coquettish.
coy
American
[koi]
/ kɔɪ /
adjective
-
coyer,
comparative
-
coyest
superlative
-
artfully or affectedly shy or reserved; slyly hesitant; coquettish.
-
showing reluctance, especially when insincere or affected, to reveal one's plans or opinions, make a commitment, or take a stand.
The mayor was coy about his future political aspirations.
-
Archaic. disdainful; aloof.
-
Obsolete. quiet; reserved.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Obsolete.
-
to quiet; soothe.
-
to pat; caress.
coy
1
British
/ kɔɪ /
adjective
-
(usually of a woman) affectedly demure, esp in a playful or provocative manner
-
shy; modest
-
evasive, esp in an annoying way
Coy.
2
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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coyishnessnoun
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coynessnoun
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overcoynessnoun
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uncoynessnoun
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coyishadjective
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overcoyadjective
-
uncoyadjective
-
coylyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of coy
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French coi, quoy “calm,” Old French quei, from unattested Vulgar Latin quētus, for Latin quiētus quiet
Explanation
Take the adjective coy for a person who pretends to be shy but really isn't, or someone who could give a definite answer but won't. Coy behavior can be playful or just plain annoying. Originally meaning "quiet and shy," today someone who is coy pretends to be shy in a playful manner — often as a form of flirting. If a politician is coy about something, he or she only gives vague statements on an issue for fear of committing to a position or angering his or her constituency. Common to both of these senses is the fact that a person uses coyness to subtly manipulate his or her audience.
Vocabulary lists containing coy
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell
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The Things They Carried
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The word “DeFiant” was a coy wink to this idea of decentralized currency, known as DeFi, the ostensible rationale for the new Trump–Witkoff platform.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
But Peter Ricketts, the UK's Bayeux Tapestry envoy, remained coy about the exact date the "incredibly fragile object" would arrive from its home in northern France for a major exhibition at the British Museum.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Zendaya addresses those AI-generated pictures depicting her marriage to fiancé Tom Holland while also remaining coy about whether they really tied the knot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
But the global superstar - known for long-game teases and hidden Easter eggs that fans love to decode - has been coy on details of her wedding to American football star, Travis Kelce.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
The coy smile was still in place, but he wasn’t looking at her, and she left dissatisfied.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
A senior captain having arrived with the draft has taken over "A" Coy. and I remain as second in command.
From Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916, from Robert Palmer, who was killed in the Battle of Um El Hannah, June 21, 1916, aged 27 years by Robert Stafford Arthur Palmer
Needham, "C" Coy. the second line under Capt.
From Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916, from Robert Palmer, who was killed in the Battle of Um El Hannah, June 21, 1916, aged 27 years by Robert Stafford Arthur Palmer
What was left of "E" Coy. entrained on 26th October, 1915, at Gailes for Ripon.
From The Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion) Record of War Service, 1914-1918 by John W. Arthur
A man in our Coy. died last night.
From Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916, from Robert Palmer, who was killed in the Battle of Um El Hannah, June 21, 1916, aged 27 years by Robert Stafford Arthur Palmer
None of the man's old Coy. officers are here.
From Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916, from Robert Palmer, who was killed in the Battle of Um El Hannah, June 21, 1916, aged 27 years by Robert Stafford Arthur Palmer
Sir: You have so frightened the South African government by your coyer story that they cannot make up their minds whether or not to let us read it.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unlike his coyer colleagues, Wilson was never afraid to turn his searchlight on himself.
From Time Magazine Archive
One of the prominent members is Yuri Barsakov, whose coyer is the Izvestia News Agency.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ne'er saw maiden fairer, coyer, Than wert thou, my true love, when In the gloaming first I saw yer, In the gloaming of the glen!
From Ballads by William Makepeace Thackeray
It is essentially a small cyclopedia Of ready rules and references packed full from coyer to cover of condensed, meaty information and precepts on almost every leading subject connected with country life.
From Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Alva Agee
To him, language is fundamentally the language of love: man wooing meaning, down to the coyest nuance, the most maidenly scruple.
From Time Magazine Archive
In exchange, the U.S. was offering only the coyest of hints about possible cutbacks in its own future programs.
From Time Magazine Archive
The following year, all the kiddie stars were lisping the lyrics of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and 1952 brought the coyest Christmas hit, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.
From Time Magazine Archive
The coyest and most courted region in the 1968 election season is the South.
From Time Magazine Archive
I'm hot on the trail of a fullback that will make Ted Coy at his coyest look like the paralyzed inmate of an old man's home.
From T. Haviland Hicks Senior by J. Raymond Elderdice
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
