demureness

noun

demureness

noun

Etymology From demure + -ness.

1

Usually The state or quality of being demure.

  • She would laugh, high and loud, and the shopkeepers would laugh with her, their laughter softer than hers, a thoughtful demureness that was mindful of the fact that she was the customer […] and therefore should not be upstaged.2009, Chika Unigwe, On Black Sisters’ Street, Vintage (2010), pages 257-258:
  • “Don’t be coy. Haven’t I sent you nice gifts? Haven’t I been sweet to you? You play at demureness, but now? Why him? Why not me?”2016, C Pam Zhang, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, Virago, page 222:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.