kittenish

[kit-n-ish]

adjective

1. coyly playful.

2. like or in the manner of a kitten.

kittenish

/ ˈkɪtənɪʃ /

adjective

1. like a kitten; lively

2. (of a woman) flirtatious, esp coyly flirtatious

Other Word Forms

• kittenishly adverb
• kittenishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of kittenish¹

First recorded in 1745–55; kitten + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Otherwise, Anderson holds her own, cooing her one-liners with the kittenish candor of Marilyn Monroe.

From Los Angeles Times

Seductively kittenish, Gardner lives up to her profane reputation.

From Los Angeles Times

You could not call her kittenish: she was nobody’s pet, nobody’s plaything.

From Los Angeles Times

Her hair is bobbed and her hands and lower arms gloved; on her feet are kittenish, pointy, low-stilettoed black pumps.

From Salon

I was a few minutes early one week and entered the office to find Agent Samson doing her job on Garth Barclay, a slight, kittenish boy I'd met back in the fourth grade.

From Literature