Link Centre Dictionary

cagey

ca·gey

UK/ˈkeɪd͡ʒi/ US/ˈkeɪdʒi/ uncommon

adjective

1.

showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others

  • “a cagey lawyer”
  • “too clever to be sound”
Synonyms
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2.

characterized by great cautious and wariness

  • “a cagey avoidance of a definite answer”
  • “chary of the risks involved”
  • “a chary investor”
Synonyms
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Origin

Initially US colloquial, of unknown origin. A connection with the behavior of caged prisoners (wary and closed-lipped) and caged animals (wary) has been speculated. If so, by surface analysis, cage + -y.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.