kittenfishing

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noun

The practice of presenting oneself in a more favorable or exaggerated light on dating apps or social media.

Scrabble 24
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Meanings

nounkittenfishing (uncountable)
  1. neologismuncountablesocial mediaThe practice of presenting oneself in a more favorable or exaggerated light on dating apps or social media.

    To be fair, I catfished using my own non-pregnant photos so perhaps kittenfishing would be more apt. MTV, feel free to call me to discuss the concept further.

    2018, Amy Nickell, Confessions of a Single Mum: What It's Like When You're Expecting The Unexpected, Headline Publishing Group, page 53
    2 more examples

    Unfortunately, while kittenfishing is generally considered less ‘serious’ a dating app offence as catfishing (where you pretend to be an entirely different person completely), it can still be damaging, and pretty manipulative; indeed, you will feel duped and deceived when going on a date with somebody who has been telling little white lies from the beginning.

    2021 December 20, Rebecca Fearn, “Kittenfishing is the new dating trend doing the rounds, but what exactly is it? And are we guilty of doing it ourselves?”, in Glamour, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2024

    Its strange how ghosting, kittenfishing or orbiting in today’s times is so common personally, I also dislike all the modern things like cushioning, zombieing, and breadcrumbing. I believe modern dating terminology is perplexing and complicated.

    2021, Jyoti Patel, The Awakening - Unheard. Undiscovered. Untold., Jyoti Patel, page 45
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of kittenfish

Origin

Blend of kitten + catfishing. The word kitten is used because it is regarded as a less severe form of catfishing. Coined in an article by dating app Hinge published on June 21, 2017.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kittenfishing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kittenfishing

MLA

“kittenfishing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kittenfishing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kittenfishing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kittenfishing.

Source: kittenfishing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.