demure
adjective
[ dɪˈmjʊə ]
• reserved, modest, and shy (typically used of a woman).
• "a demure young lady"
Similar:
modest,
unassuming,
meek,
mild,
reserved,
retiring,
quiet,
shy,
bashful,
diffident,
reticent,
timid,
timorous,
shrinking,
coy,
decorous,
decent,
seemly,
ladylike,
respectable,
proper,
virtuous,
pure,
innocent,
maidenly,
virginal,
chaste,
sober,
sedate,
staid,
prim,
prim and proper,
priggish,
prissy,
prudish,
goody-goody,
strait-laced,
puritanical,
old-maidish,
straight,
starchy,
uptight,
square,
retired,
Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘sober, serious, reserved’): perhaps from Old French demoure, past participle of demourer ‘remain’ (see demur); influenced by Old French mur ‘grave’, from Latin maturus ‘ripe or mature’. The sense ‘reserved, shy’ dates from the late 17th century.
