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cagey

cag·ey
C c

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [key-jee]
    • /ˈkeɪ dʒi/
    • /ˈkeɪ.dʒi/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [key-jee]
    • /ˈkeɪ dʒi/

Definitions of cagey word

  • adjective cagey If you say that someone is being cagey about something, you mean that you think they are deliberately not giving you much information or expressing an opinion about it. 3
  • adjective cagey not open or frank; cautious; wary 3
  • adjective cagey sly; tricky; cunning 3
  • adjective cagey careful not to get caught or fooled 3
  • adjective cagey cautious, wary, or shrewd: a cagey reply to the probing question. 1
  • noun cagey Reluctant to give information owing to caution or suspicion. 1
See all 10 definitions of cagey

Information block about the term

Origin of cagey

First appearance:

before 1890
One of the 20% newest English words
An Americanism dating back to 1890-95; cage + -y1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Cagey

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Cagey

cagey popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 70% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

cagey usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for cagey

adj cagey

  • wily — full of, marked by, or proceeding from wiles; crafty; cunning.
  • shrewd — astute or sharp in practical matters: a shrewd politician.
  • circumspect — If you are circumspect, you are cautious in what you do and say and do not take risks.
  • secretive — secretory.
  • crafty — If you describe someone as crafty, you mean that they achieve what they want in a clever way, often by deceiving people.

adjective cagey

  • guarded — cautious; careful; prudent: to be guarded in one's speech.
  • cautious — Someone who is cautious acts very carefully in order to avoid possible danger.
  • reticent — disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.
  • tricky — given to or characterized by deceitful tricks; crafty; wily.
All 14 Synonyms of cagey

Antonyms for cagey

adj cagey

  • naive — having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
  • honest — honorable in principles, intentions, and actions; upright and fair: an honest person.

adjective cagey

  • reckless — utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless (usually followed by of): to be reckless of danger.
All 3 Antonyms of cagey

Top questions with cagey

  • what does cagey mean?
  • what does the word cagey mean?
  • what does it mean to be cagey?
  • what is the meaning of cagey?

See also

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