verb
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to behave flirtatiously
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to dally or trifle
Etymology
Origin of coquet
1685–95; < French; literally, cockerel, equivalent to coq cock + -et -et
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:
A: I'm afraid I was a bit of a coquet in my youth, but now that I'm a grandmother with an 18-year-old granddaughter, I'm simplifying what I wear.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2010
The coquet is sadly tempted to gather some of the flowers for her own use, but dares not.
From A Treatise on the Art of Dancing by Gallini, Giovanni-Andrea
But the triumph is Lady Froth, ‘a great coquet, pretender to poetry, wit, and learning,’ and one would almost as lief have seen Mrs. Mountfort in the part as the Bracegirdle’s Millamant.
From The Comedies of William Congreve Volume 1 [of 2] by Street, G. S. (George Slythe)
They are, he thinks, dilettanti, sentimentalists, who coquet with the misery of the masses, in order to serve the same up well spiced and warmed to their luxurious and fashionable readers.
From The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 3, February, 1851 by Various
The simplicity of the remedy is so attractive that it is not surprising that the Governments of industrial nations should coquet from time to time with the policy of compulsory arbitration.
From The Acquisitive Society by Tawney, R. H.
Madame coquetted with him in the most captivating and naive manner, with eyes, gestures, and a profusion of compliments, till the Colonel’s old head felt thirty years younger on his padded shoulders.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
Nodding bluebells coquetted with the tiny wave crests, while the grass along the bank waved little blades in defiance at the roar of its voice.
From Chiquita, an American Novel The Romance of a Ute Chief's Daughter by Tileston, Merrill
And as he spoke he smiled and coquetted with the portrait, as though to say, "Don't mind my saying all this to your face."
From The Fortunes Of Glencore by Lever, Charles James
Pretty and intelligent, she coquetted with every one, and with me in particular; then, after some encouragement, she jilted me for a Bavarian lieutenant with rosy cheeks.
From Annouchka A Tale by Turgenev, Ivan Sergeevich
The duke of Parma, who had coquetted for some time with the French monarch, was won over to Spain by the restoration of Placentia, of which he had been despoiled by Charles the Fifth.
From History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, Vols. 1 and 2 by Prescott, William Hickling
But Heine is to our view always the same, always the representative of humor with "a laughing tear" in his escutcheon, always the poetic anomaly, coquetting with his pain and scoffing it away.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16 by Various
Otherwise his career had been much like other careers, denouncing, or coquetting and even pressing for office, equable in expectation, and vindictive if refused.
From Lord Chatham His Early Life and Connections by Rosebery, Archibald Phillip Primrose
"Is she only coquetting with me?" he asked himself, "or--or--" A passionate joy throbbed in his veins, then suddenly an icy shudder ran over him.
From Asbe?n From the Life of a Virtuoso by Schubin, Ossip
Eddying into every quiet bay, coquetting with every salient angle, moving to the melody of its own murmurs, it flows on serenely and musically.
From The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts by Holley, George W.
The ostler watched her pick her way towards her master, coquetting with her head, and sidling round him in the most playful manner possible.
From The Black Moth A Romance of the XVIIIth Century by Heyer, Georgette
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.
