cattish
Americanadjective
-
catlike; feline.
-
spiteful; malicious.
Other Word Forms
- cattishly adverb
- cattishness noun
Etymology
Origin of cattish
First recorded in 1590–1600; cat ( def. ) + -ish 1
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.
His deviousness, clowning and attention-seeking have something fittingly and convincingly cattish about them.
From The Guardian • Jan. 6, 2011
Penelope is "the sly cattish wife," Odysseus "that cold-blooded egotist," Telemachus "the priggish son who yet met his master-prig in Menelaus."
From Time Magazine Archive
Sometimes Stillman wondered whether she would really be cattish enough to betray his confidence and bring Claire Robson crashing down under the weight of the questionable position into which his indiscretion had forced her.
From The Blood Red Dawn by Dobie, Charles Caldwell
Old Grizzly wouldn't be so cattish about sneaking up and laying low for us until the fire died down, or till one of us happened to step out of the circle of light!
From Polly of Pebbly Pit by Roy, Lillian Elizabeth
Angela hoped that her laugh was not cattish.
From The Port of Adventure by Williamson, A. M. (Alice Muriel)
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.
