coyness
Flirtatious false shyness
Coyness is the quality of being coy—affectedly shy, modest, or reluctant.
Someone who displays coyness pretends to be demure or evasive, often as a form of flirtation: Her coyness only made him more interested.
The word can suggest calculated behavior rather than genuine modesty: The politician's coyness about his plans fooled no one.
Playful, mild ridicule
- playfulInclined toward fun
- coquettishPlayfully alluring in manner
- seductivePowerfully attractive, tempting
- coquetryPlayful amorous behavior
flirtatious · alluring · kittenish · provocative · banter · wink · giggle · innuendo
Modestly reserved in manner
- chasteAbstaining from sexual activity
- decorousSocially appropriate, dignified
- unassumingNot making claims
- demurenessModest, reserved quality
propriety · virtuous · innocent · maidenly · prim · prudish · decency · pure
Uncomfortably self-conscious
- timidLacking courage or confidence
- diffidentLacking self-assurance
- self-consciousUncomfortably aware of oneself
- reservedRestrained in manner
sheepish · retiring · meek · blushing · demure · mousy · timorous · shrinking
Habitual verbal restraint
- evasionAct of escaping detection
- noncommittalNot expressing clear opinion
- deflectionChange in trajectory
- vaguenessAbsence of precision
circumlocution · hedging · sidestepping · equivocation · indirectness · withholding · obliqueness · elusive
teasing
Playful, mild ridicule
- playfulInclined toward fun
- coquettishPlayfully alluring in manner
- seductivePowerfully attractive, tempting
coquetry · flirtatious · alluring · kittenish · provocative · banter · wink · giggle · innuendo · enticement
demure
Modestly reserved in manner
- chasteAbstaining from sexual activity
- decorousSocially appropriate, dignified
- unassumingNot making claims
demureness · propriety · virtuous · innocent · maidenly · prim · prudish · decency · pure · respectable
bashful
Uncomfortably self-conscious
- timidLacking courage or confidence
- diffidentLacking self-assurance
- self-consciousUncomfortably aware of oneself
reserved · sheepish · retiring · meek · blushing · demure · mousy · timorous · shrinking · unassuming
reticence
Habitual verbal restraint
- evasionAct of escaping detection
- noncommittalNot expressing clear opinion
- deflectionChange in trajectory
vagueness · circumlocution · hedging · sidestepping · equivocation · indirectness · withholding · obliqueness · elusive · disingenuous
- flirtingpickup line, wink, winking, hair flip, chat-up line
- humilityhumbleness, humble, meekness, modesty, modest
- innuendoinnuendo, sexual innuendo, double entendre, double meaning, implied meaning
- seductionseduction, seductive, allure, beguilement, enticement
- timiditybashfulness, shyness, timidness, timorousness, meekness
- Affected Speechaffectation, airs, pretentiousness, posh accent, overenunciation
coynessdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
forthrightness · forwardness · candor · frankness · straightforwardness
coynessforwardness
Undue familiarity or boldness
boldness · brazenness · confidence · assertiveness · aggressiveness
coynesssincerity
Honest, unfeigned genuineness
genuineness · artlessness · guilelessness · ingenuousness · naivety