coquettish

[ koh-ket-ish ]

adjective

1. (of a woman) characteristically flirtatious, especially in a teasing, lighthearted manner.

Other Words From

• co·quettish·ly adverb
• co·quettish·ness noun
• unco·quettish adjective
• unco·quettish·ly adverb
• unco·quettish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of coquettish¹

First recorded in 1685–95; coquett(e) ( def ) + -ish ¹( def )

Example Sentences

"There's this coquettish kind of bravery I discovered in my teens, a thrill at being the first person to engage a romance," she explains.

From BBC

And Burns nearly steals the second act in her brief solo, “Memory,” a coquettish dream of past flames.

From New York Times

Shy, bold, coquettish or mocking, a woman’s smile is richly signifying, something that Wilde, an actress turned director, certainly knows.

From New York Times

She’s a knowing adult reflecting on the sexual abuse she endured, a shrinking child, a coquettish yet whip-smart 17 year old; Parker acts her way through decades of Li’l Bit’s trauma with astute choreography.

From New York Times

One of the girls kept laughing affectedly, and saying, “Now Professor,” in a coquettish tone, and the other pronounced her German with an accent that must have made it hard for him to keep sober.

From Literature