kittenish

[ kit-n-ish ]

/ ˈkɪt n ɪʃ /

coyly playful.

like or in the manner of a kitten.

Origin of kittenish

First recorded in 1745–55; kitten + -ish¹

kit·ten·ish·ly, adverb kit·ten·ish·ness, noun

Friends speak of a steely and determined operator beneath the kittenish veneer.

Pippa Middleton, the Royal Wedding's Other Star |Tom Sykes |April 29, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Still, the way Zemeckis talks about Staar is in a coy, kittenish way that does not entirely suggest unparallel lives.

A Hollywood Wife's Sexy Alter-Ego |Nicole LaPorte |April 20, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
Mollie, who had been rubbing her cheeks against her friend in a fondling, kittenish sort of way, started back in a moment.

Lover or Friend |Rosa Nouchette Carey
It was remarkable, he considered, how old and mature Helen could be when she chose, and how kittenish when she chose.

Helen with the High Hand (2nd ed.) |Arnold Bennett

Dexter seemed to divine his coming and broke into a kittenish gallop until he reached the Methodist Church.

Merton of the Movies |Harry Leon Wilson
If he had fled, it would fling itself after him with a ferocity beside which the fury of a tiger would be kittenish.

The Forgotten Planet |Murray Leinster
As for Becky Sharp, that kittenish person seldom arouses in me much curiosity.

Ivory Apes and Peacocks |James Huneker

kittenish

/ (ˈkɪtənɪʃ) /

like a kitten; lively

(of a woman) flirtatious, esp coyly flirtatious

kittenishly, adverb kittenishness, noun