kittenish
/ˈkɪt(ə)nɪʃ
/adjective
Playful, lively, or flirtatious: her voice had that kittenish quality...
- She leaned her head against my shoulder, a kittenish move that would have been appropriate from an eight-year-old, and was extremely odd when performed by a woman who needed bifocals to read a menu.
- Make-up-free, dressed down in jeans and a tank top with her blonde hair brushing her shoulders, she has the appeal of an old-time screen siren - kittenish, yet savvy and not to be trifled with.
- From across the English Channel comes Modesty Blaise, kittenish superspy who, with her slippery sidekick Willie Garvin, tangles in various criminal intrigues at Her Majesty's behest.
Synonyms
playful, fun-loving, light-hearted, skittish, mischievous, roguish, impish, frisky, lively;
coquettish, flirtatious, cute, coy, arch, teasing, cheeky, naughty;
frivolous, flippant, superficial, trivial, shallow, giddy, empty-headed, scatterbrained, feather-brained, silly
informal flirty, dizzy
archaic frolicsome, sportive, gamesome, frolic
rare ludic
Derivatives
kittenishly
kittenishness
- ‘When I hit high school, I was very into mysticism,’ says Ramzy, who projects a combination of kittenishness and authority.
- From exaggerated mannishness to excruciating kittenishness, Shaw never for a second stops Acting.
- She's good and funny as a woman of a certain age, reduced to mewing kittenishness in Cruise's presence.