From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcoycoy /kɔɪ/ adjective 1 PRETENDshy or pretending to be shy in order to attract people’s interest She gave him a coy smile.2 SECRETunwilling to give information about something OPP opencoy about Tania was always coy about her age. —coyly adverb —coyness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
coy• Ben thinks Leah is just being coy.• Teresa blushed when she saw me and turned very coy.• Marxist urban politics is now much more coy about all-embracing grand, theoretical claims.• Officials are coy about the details.• Her mother encouraged her to use her feminine charm, 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, sending coy glances at all of us.• Isabella, the next day, is full of coy importance, saying that Catherine must guess her secret.• There was no twinkle in her eyes and no coy smile on her lips.coy about• Gonzalez was coy about precisely where he's moving.Origin coy (1300-1400) Old French coi “calm”, from Latin quietus “quiet” 