DEMURE DEFINITIONS - 11 definitions found
demure adj 1: affectedly modest or shy especially in a playful or provocative way [syn: coy, demure, overmodest] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) demure adjective Etymology: Middle English Date: 14th century 1. reserved, modest 2. affectedly modest, reserved, or serious ; coy • demurely adverb • demureness noun Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary demure 1. If you describe someone, usually a young woman, as demure, you mean they are quiet and rather shy, usually in a way that you like and find appealing, and behave very correctly. She's very demure and sweet... ADJ [approval] • demurely She smiled demurely. ADV: usu ADV with v 2. Demure clothes do not reveal your body and they give the impression that you are shy and behave correctly. (WRITTEN) ...a demure high-necked white blouse. ADJ: usu ADJ n • demurely She was demurely dressed in a black woollen suit. ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v English Explanatory Dictionary demure dɪˈmjuə adj. (demurer, demurest) 1 composed, quiet, and reserved; modest. 2 affectedly shy and quiet; coy. 3 decorous (a demure high collar). øødemurely adv. demureness n. [ME, perh. f. AF demur÷ f. OF demor÷ past part. of demorer remain, stay (as DEMUR): infl. by OF meâr f. L maturus ripe] 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue DEMURE As demure as an old whore at a christening. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Demure \De*mure"\, a. [Perh. from OF. de murs (i. e., de bonnes murs of good manners); de of + murs, mours, meurs, mors, F. m?urs, fr. L. mores (sing. mos) manners, morals (see Moral); or more prob. fr. OF. me["u]r, F. m[^u]r mature, ripe (see Mature) in a phrase preceded by de, as de m[^u]re conduite of mature conduct.] 1. Of sober or serious mien; composed and decorous in bearing; of modest look; staid; grave. Sober, steadfast, and demure. --Milton. Nan was very much delighted in her demure way, and that delight showed itself in her face and in her clear bright eyes. --W. Black. 2. Affectedly modest, decorous, or serious; making a show of gravity. A cat lay, and looked so demure, as if there had been neither life nor soul in her. --L'Estrange. Miss Lizzy, I have no doubt, would be as demure and coquettish, as if ten winters more had gone over her head. --Miss Mitford. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Demure \De*mure"\, v. i. To look demurely. [Obs.] --Shak. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms demure a. 1. Affectedly modest, prudish, overmodest, putting on shyness or coyness. 2. Sober, sedate, grave, modest, coy, downcast. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 67 Moby Thesaurus words for "demure": Quakerish, Victorian, backward, bashful, censorious, close, confused, conscious, coy, decent, decorous, diffident, earnest, formal, frowning, grave, grim, grim-faced, grim-visaged, hidebound, inarticulate, long-faced, mid-Victorian, modest, mousy, narrow, nice, old-maidish, overmodest, priggish, prim, proper, prudish, puritanical, reserved, reticent, retiring, sanctimonious, sedate, seemly, self-conscious, serious, shamefaced, shamefast, shy, silent, skittish, smug, sober, sober-minded, sobersided, solemn, somber, staid, stammering, stiff-necked, stone-faced, straight-faced, straitlaced, stuffy, thoughtful, timid, timorous, unassertive, unassured, unsmiling, weighty |
|
