All 5 Uses
coy
in
Seventeenth Summer
(Auto-generated)
- We had got along well at the cottage party and driving back to town she had remarked coyly, "Angie, let's you and me get together some night when the fellows are taking out their other girls!"†
Chpt June
- Long after the display had ceased the spectacle was bright before our eyes and the night sky was suddenly gentle and demure with the coy twinkle of pale stars.†
Chpt July
- Margie opened her purse and patted her hair in the mirror, remarking coyly, "I know you two aren't going to mind being left alone .... "
Chpt Julycoyly = playfully suggesting modesty while knowingly encouraging a romantic situation.
- "I know, Martie," she answered coyly, her lips pouted, "I know we just got here, but I want to go."
Chpt July *
- While we had been dancing she had printed her initials and Swede's on the wall with lipstick and was coyly waiting for him to notice.†
Chpt Augu
Definitions:
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(1)
(coy) playfully shy or subtly flirtatious; and/or, deliberately evasive to avoid giving information or making a commitmentWriters often use coy when someone acts shy or innocent in a playful way, while being aware of the effect—like giving a coy smile.
The word can also describe being deliberately evasive or withholding information, as in a coy answer that dodges the real question or a coy response that modestly downplays an accomplishment.
In many cases, the person is both playful and withholding at once, as when teasing someone with coy hints about a surprise without revealing what it is. - (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)