scaredy-cat
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does scaredy-cat mean? A scaredy-cat is a person who is easily frightened.Scaredy-cat is very informal and is most often used by children. It is synonymous with fraidy-cat.Example: He won’t go into the haunted house because he’s a scaredy-cat.
Etymology
Origin of scaredy-cat
First recorded in 1930–35; scared ( def. ) + -y 2 + cat ( def. ) (in the slang sense “person, man”)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Wow, Althea. Little noises got you nervous? Guess you’re the scaredy-cat you always were.”
From Literature
During wilderness orientation in Canada, Naomi said she was the "biggest scaredy-cat - I vocalised my nerves" and thinks this made others write her off.
From BBC
“Ava’s a scaredy-cat of any loud noises,” said Rori Chang, who was there with her golden retriever.
From Seattle Times
That teasing quality, though sometimes charming — and often, if you are a scaredy-cat, a relief from the hard-core jolts — is the giveaway that “Grey House” should not be taken too seriously, regardless of its allusions to real-world horror of the past and present.
From New York Times
French winger Ousmane Dembele, for example, is a scaredy-cat, according to teammate Randal Kolo Muani, who said Dembele is frightened by the strays that roam the 33 acres surrounding France’s resort hotel in Doha.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
