variants
or less commonly cagy
cagier; cagiest
1
: hesitant about committing oneself
officials are cagey about giving out details
2
a
: wary of being trapped or deceived : shrewd
a cagey consumer
b
: marked by cleverness
a cagey reply
Synonyms
Examples of cagey in a Sentence
a cagey old politician who is exceptionally skilled at getting federal money for his district
when it came time to sign the contract, he suddenly got cagey about taking on the job
Recent Examples on the Web
So Far Gone, one of that decade’s high watermarks of blog-era taste and jocking-for-beats curation, ramped up the transformation, getting cagier about the oversharing and locating a vulnerability that didn’t scan as corny.
—
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
The second half was a much cagier affair, with the best chance falling to Pulisic in the 68th minute, only for his low effort to be parried away by Brazil’s goalkeeper Allison.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 13 June 2024
One big change is that interest rates are higher, which makes large purchases more expensive to finance, and makes buyers cagier about purchasing anything, new cars included.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024
DeSantis has been extremely cagey when asked direct questions about his vaccination status.
—Chris Cillizza, CNN, 5 Jan. 2022
See all Example Sentences for cagey 
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Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
The second half was a much cagier affair, with the best chance falling to Pulisic in the 68th minute, only for his low effort to be parried away by Brazil’s goalkeeper Allison.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 13 June 2024
One big change is that interest rates are higher, which makes large purchases more expensive to finance, and makes buyers cagier about purchasing anything, new cars included.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024
DeSantis has been extremely cagey when asked direct questions about his vaccination status.
—Chris Cillizza, CNN, 5 Jan. 2022
See all Example Sentences for cagey
Dictionary Entries Near cagey
Cite this Entry
“Cagey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cagey. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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