demure

Meaning

1. Reserved, modest, and mindful of how one presents oneself.
2. Used ironically to describe exaggerated, over-the-top propriety.

“She opened her laptop very demure, very mindful.”

Where it came from

Demure is an old English word for shy modesty. TikToker Jools Lebron revived it in August 2024 with a series of videos on being “very demure, very mindful” at work, and usage jumped over 1,200 percent that year. Dictionary.com named it Word of the Year 2024.