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adj. coy·er, coy·est 1. a. Affectedly and often flirtatiously shy or modest: "I pictured myself as some sylvan deity, and she a coy wood nymph of whom I was in pursuit" (Washington Irving). b. Characterized by or suggesting such shyness or modesty: "How absurd I must have looked standing there before him ... a coy little simper on my foolish young face" (Jane Avrich). 2. Unwilling to make a commitment or divulge information: "As a child, when I asked my mother her age she was coy and evasive" (Lynne Sharon Schwartz). 3. Tending to avoid people and social situations; reserved: "The children were staring up at him, too coy to question him and too curious not to stare" (Edwidge Danticat). [Middle English, from Old French quei, coi, quiet, still, from Vulgar Latin *quētus, from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere, to rest; see kweiə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] coyly adv. coyness n. |
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