demure.

Reserved and modest in manner or appearance.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• demure smile
• demure dress

On the page

She gave a demure smile before contradicting him.

The demure dress suited the formal occasion.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more demure; superlative most demure where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.