Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To engage in coquetry; flirt.
- intransitive verb To trifle; dally.
from The Century Dictionary.
- See
cocket and coquette. - To attempt, out of vanity, to attract the notice, admiration, or love of; entertain with compliments and amorous flattery; treat with an appearance of amorous tenderness.
- To trifle in love; act the lover from vanity; endeavor to gain admirers.
- Hence To trifle, in general; act without seriousness or decision.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To attempt to attract the notice, admiration, or love of; to treat with a show of tenderness or regard, with a view to deceive and disappoint.
- intransitive verb To trifle in love; to stimulate affection or interest; to play the coquette; to deal playfully instead of seriously; to play (with).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
flirtatious female; acoquette . - noun obsolete A flirtatious male.
- verb Act as a
flirt or coquet. - verb Waste time;
dally .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Orlando undertook the defence of his sister with more zeal than prudence; but Mrs Rayland, though not to be convinced that Isabella was not a vain coquet, which indeed her unguarded gaiety gave the old Lady very good reason to believe, was however in a humour to be pleased with all Orlando said.
The Old Manor House 1793
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Germany, and the Lord knows where, may have changed her from a little bewitching, smiling, artless creature -- to a _vain, designing, haughty_, -- I could call a coquet by a thousand names; -- but Lady
Barford Abbey Susannah Minific Gunning
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His great friend and confidant, the painter and diarist Joseph Farington, bluntly called him "a male coquet".
Thomas Lawrence: The new romantic – review Richard Holmes 2010
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Her large Jackie O. sunglasses hid her pretty smile lines, but the coquet* gap between her two front teeth revealed itself when the corners of her lips turned up, "Salut!"
mother-in-law 2010
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Her large Jackie O. sunglasses hid her pretty smile lines, but the coquet* gap between her two front teeth revealed itself when the corners of her lips turned up, "Salut!"
mother-in-law 2010
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Mr Harrel, with his usual levity and carelessness, laughed at the charge, but denied any belief in her displeasure, and affected to think she was merely playing the coquet, while Sir Robert was not the less her decided choice.
Cecilia 2008
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The Conversation of other Books were passant, as are the Entertainments of coquet Mistresses; but this, like a faithful Spouse, was my constant Companion; in her I enjoy'd the whole World, from the
Exilius 2008
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Mademoiselle de La Bastie was inclined to coquet with your Melchior, and was only too ready to become your rival, though her arms are thin, and she has no more bust than most girls; moreover, her hair is as dead and colorless as that of
Modeste Mignon 2007
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So, seizing a candle, he looked about for his gold-laced cap, and found it lying in its usual place, on a console-table, in the anteroom, placed before a mirror at which Jos used to coquet, always giving his side-locks a twirl, and his cap the proper cock over his eye, before he went forth to make appearance in public.
Vanity Fair 2006
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“Ah! none of that! none of that — I cannot coquet with you!” she cried.
The Woodlanders 2006
madmouth commented on the word coquet
said the Queen to Alice, "do you play coquet?"
May 14, 2009