Coquetry
//ˈkɒkɪtɹi// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Coquettish behaviour; actions designed to excite erotic attention, without intending to reciprocate such feelings (chiefly of women towards men); flirtatious teasing. countable, uncountable
"With a lover […] her sensibility will naturally lead her to endeavour to excite emotion, not to gratify her vanity, but her heart. This I do not allow to be coquetry, it is the artless impulse of nature […]"
- 2 playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest wordnet
- 3 An act constituting such behaviour; an affectation of amorous interest or enticement, especially of a woman directed towards a man. countable
"The little coquetries, which are as natural to a gay young girl as her laughter, were all in full play, and had she gone no further no harm would have been done."
Example
More examples"There were grace, seduction, mystery, and coquetry in her face and in all her movements."
Etymology
From French coquetterie.
More for "coquetry"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.