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.
to quiet; soothe.
to pat; caress.
(usually of a woman) affectedly demure, esp in a playful or provocative manner
shy; modest
evasive, esp in an annoying way
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
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
People with knowledge of the negotiations are being coy about what Rangers are paying Hearts for Shankland.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
Diamondback Energy said it would add a rig, but most companies have been coy.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Ternus called it an “incredible honor” to follow in Cook’s footsteps and touted Apple’s product road map, but was coy about details.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
“I won’t go there,” she says, gently, with a coy smile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
In the hall, the door to the service closet hung partly open, providing a coy glimpse of the reeking horror within.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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 Palmer, Robert Stafford Arthur
Ultimately it was taken over by the Isle of Man Steampacket Coy., and after a few years discontinued.
From Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland by Tatlow, Joseph
"A" Coy. has been working at top pressure there, entrenching and putting up wire entanglements.
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 Palmer, Robert Stafford Arthur
Then over fifty are on jobs which take them away from the Coy. and from ten to twenty go on guards every day.
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 Palmer, Robert Stafford Arthur
Page Roberts, and "D" Coy. the third 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 Palmer, Robert Stafford Arthur
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
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
The storage reservoir, from which it draws Pioneer, Utah. its water, will coyer an area of 2000 acres, and contain about 15,000 million gallons of water.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various
My tell-tale tongue, in talking over bold, What they in private council did declare, To thee, in plain and public terms unrolled; And so by that made thee more coyer far.
From Elizabethan Sonnet-Cycles Delia - Diana by Crow, Martha Foote
But just as often, he can suggest Louella Parsons at her coyest: "Soon Sinatra will give her a white poodle which she calls 'Maf,' for she is forever teasing Sinatra about his connections."
From Time Magazine Archive
The coyest and most courted region in the 1968 election season is the South.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ellen DeGeneres made the rounds of the hipper talk shows last week in what appeared to be the coyest exercise in trial ballooning since Colin Powell's book tour.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
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 Elderdice, J. Raymond
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.
