kittenishness

noun

as in play
the attitude or behavior of one who insincerely courts the amorous attentions of others a literary heroine covering grit and guile underneath her kittenishness

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for kittenishness
  1. play
  2. flirtation
  3. coyness
  4. coquetry
  5. flirtatiousness
Noun
  • Reasons for that include a lot of Vikings blitzes and two great plays by safety Jay Ward, a would-be interception ruled a sack and a sack on a blitz.
    — Ren Clayton, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Freeland grabbed at his back after delivering a pitch to Ben Rortvedt, who flied out on the play, and was removed after allowing four runs on six hits.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of play
Noun
  • The men exude contentious authority in various ways, from the grandee’s circumspect command and Uncle Jeb’s sly omniscience to the mechanic’s viperish resentment and Billy’s acerbic flirtation.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The Gemini Moon moves through your 5th House of Creativity and sextiles the Leo Sun in your 7th House of Partnership, helping humor, flirtation, brainstorming, or self-expression flow more easily with someone else.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of flirtation
Noun
  • There is her coyness about her future plans, and her own recent memoir.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The Hunting Wives strips away any coyness about sexuality in the first three minutes of episode one.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Definition of coyness
Noun
  • The three-inch heels that the women wear when performing the dance are visible at the bottom of the skirt—a demure bit of coquetry.
    — Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022
  • In other words, the most dizzying and most consequential storyline of Michigan’s offseason — Harbaugh’s coquetry with the Minnesota Vikings notwithstanding — is going to linger a while longer.
    — Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 27 July 2022
Definition of coquetry
Noun
  • Evocative animation, with subdued blue hues and soft lighting, conveys the flirtatiousness of their rapid connection in a scene where the two swim together in a pool at night.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Definition of flirtatiousness
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

kittenish
kittenishness
kittens
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Kittenishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kittenishness. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tilde

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All