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Showing results for cagey. Search instead for cagier.
Synonyms

cagey

American  
[key-jee] / ˈkeɪ dʒi /
Also cagy

adjective

cagier, cagiest
  1. cautious, wary, or shrewd.

    a cagey reply to the probing question.

    Synonyms:
    chary, leery, prudent, careful
    Antonyms:
    forthright, open

cagey British  
/ ˈkeɪdʒɪ /

adjective

  1. informal not open or frank; cautious; wary

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cagey

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; cage + -y 1

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:

Food professionals from haute cuisine down to trend-savvy sandwich shops tend to be cagey about where they get their ramps.

From The Wall Street Journal May 13, 2026

A second US official was cagey when asked about whether an extension was likely to be agreed on Trump's trip.

From Barron's May 10, 2026

There has been a dramatic and stunning extra-time defeat thanks to Karim Benzema in the 2019-20 semis, and a gut-wrenching loss on penalties after a cagey match at the Etihad in the 2023-24 last eight.

From BBC Mar. 17, 2026

Prior to that announcement, though, Weisz is cagey about the film.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 26, 2026

I might have been slight—but I was smart and cagey.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

With what's at stake, though, it might be a little cagier than that.

From BBC May 8, 2025

Clowes himself is cagier about how to interpret “Monica” — and in particular its startling ending, which Aster described as a “gut punch.”

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 11, 2023

Judge was cagier about his contract talks with the Yankees.

From New York Times Apr. 8, 2022

The answer here was cagier, and I was asked not to quote it directly.

From Slate Aug. 12, 2021

The athletes, less forthright about their body-image issues, were cagier about their usage.

From The Guardian Jan. 31, 2020

Few can parry like Bacon — and he was at his cagiest about his work, speaking abstractly of the importance of “chance” and “accident.”

From New York Times Mar. 23, 2021

Yet here she was, about to match wits with some of the cleverest and cagiest card players in the world.

From Washington Post Jul. 1, 2020

Though I had expected Johns to be guarded about his past or his personal life, it was a surprise to find him cagiest about his artistic process.

From New York Times Feb. 18, 2019

She has a winsome translator, a force of loyal eunuch fighters and an adviser who happens to be the cagiest person in this entire story.

From New York Times Jun. 24, 2016

Why, even old Tom, the father, is, for all his seeming of pompous emptiness, the craftiest and cagiest old chap in the National Union Club.

From Destiny by Buck, Charles Neville

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