From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcoycoy /kɔɪ/ adjective1PRETENDshy or pretending to be shy in order to attract people’s interest
She gave him a coy smile.2SECRETunwilling to give information about somethingOPP opencoy about
Tania was always coy about her age. —coyly adverb —coyness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpuscoy• Ben thinks Leah is just being coy.• Teresa blushed when she saw me and turned very coy.• Marxisturbanpolitics is now much more coy about all-embracinggrand, theoreticalclaims.• Officials are coy about the details.• Her motherencouraged her to use her femininecharm, to be coy and alluring.• Cbin in hand, feet close together, there was something coy and flirty about her.• Those who go quiet and coy even when offended need to work on this.• He sat like a woman and talked like one, sendingcoyglances at all of us.• Isabella, the next day, is full of coyimportance, saying that Catherine must guess her secret.• There was no twinkle in her eyes and no coysmile on her lips.coy about• Gonzalez was coy about precisely where he's moving.Origincoy(1300-1400)Old Frenchcoi“calm”, from Latinquietus“quiet”
