coyness

  • 1Coyness — Coy ness, n. The quality of being coy; feigned o? bashful unwillingness to become familiar; reserve. [1913 Webster] When the kind nymph would coyness feign, And hides but to be found again. Dryden. Syn: Reserve; shrinking; shyness; backwardness;… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2coyness — coy ► ADJECTIVE (coyer, coyest) 1) pretending shyness or modesty. 2) reluctant to give details about something sensitive: he s coy about his age. DERIVATIVES coyly adverb coyness noun. ORIGIN Old French coi, from Latin …

    English terms dictionary

  • 3coyness — noun see coy I …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 4coyness — See coyly. * * * …

    Universalium

  • 5coyness — noun The property of being coy …

    Wiktionary

  • 6coyness — (Roget s Thesaurus II) noun An awkwardness or lack of self confidence in the presence of others: backwardness, bashfulness, retiringness, shyness, timidity, timidness. See RESTRAINT …

    English dictionary for students

  • 7coyness — coy·ness || kɔɪnɪs n. shyness, bashfulness; flirtatiousness …

    English contemporary dictionary

  • 8coyness — coy·ness …

    English syllables

  • 9coyness — noun the affectation of being demure in a provocative way (Freq. 2) • Syn: ↑demureness • Derivationally related forms: ↑demure (for: ↑demureness), ↑coy • Hyper …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 10coy — [[t]kɔ͟ɪ[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED A coy person is shy, or pretends to be shy, about love and sex. She is modest without being coy... I was sickened by the way Carol charmed all the men by turning coy. Syn: demure Derived words: coyly ADV GRADED ADV… …

    English dictionary