adjective

coy

KOY/kɔɪ/

Deliberately reluctant to reveal feelings, intentions, or information.

She stays coy about her plans despite the questions.

A modern adult woman smiles coyly and averts her eyes playfully while a friend offers flowers, gentle feigned shyness.

Etymology

Quietus expressed calm or rest. The word's meaning shifted through “quiet, modest, demure” to “shy”; in the selected sense, that reserved manner is playfully put on rather than necessarily felt.

In context

Robert Sapolsky12:32

I was being coy there, letting people fill in what I was not saying.

Mothers vs Fathers, Emergence, Primate Parenting | Robert Sapolsky Father-Offspring Interviews #72

More examples

His coy reply revealed little.
The company was coy about the price.
She gave a coy smile.

Forms

coy

coyly adverb — with deliberate reluctance to reveal

Similar words

evasive: Avoids an answer without necessarily playful restraint.
reserved: Holds back naturally rather than deliberately teasing.