Caginess

adjective, cag·i·er, cag·i·est.

cautious, wary, or shrewd: a cagey reply to the probing question.

Also, cagy.

Origin:
1890–95, Americanism; cage + -y¹

Related forms

cag·i·ly, adverb

cag·i·ness, cag·ey·ness, noun

Synonyms
careful, prudent, leery, chary.

Antonyms
open, forthright.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary

cagey or cagy (ˈkeɪdʒɪ)

—*adj* , -ier, -iest
	informal not open or frank; cautious; wary

[C20: of unknown origin]

cagy or cagy

—*adj*

[C20: of unknown origin]

'cagily or cagy

—*adv*

'caginess or cagy

—n

00:10

Caginess is always a great word to know.

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the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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cagey or cagy (ˈkeɪdʒɪ)

—*adj* , -ier, -iest
	informal not open or frank; cautious; wary

[C20: of unknown origin]

cagy or cagy

—*adj*

[C20: of unknown origin]

'cagily or cagy

—*adv*

'caginess or cagy

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cagey

"evasive, reticent," 1909, U.S. colloquial, of unknown origin.

Slang Dictionary

cagey definition

[ˈkedʒi]

mod.
sneaky; shrewd. : John is pretty cagey. You have to keep an eye on him.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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