catty

/ˈkædi/

Other forms: catties; cattily; cattier; cattiest

Someone who's catty is mean and nasty. A catty student on a school bus might refuse to let another child sit beside him, saying, "You smell bad."

If you act catty, you're malicious or snotty toward other people. The adjective is unfortunately used more often to describe females than males, but anyone who treats people nastily can be called catty. The word was originally cattish, with the same meaning — and earlier, it simply meant "pertaining to cats."

Definitions of catty

1. adjective

   marked by or arising from malice
   “a catty remark”

   synonyms: bitchy, cattish

   malicious

   having the nature of or resulting from malice
2. noun

   any of various units of weight used in southeastern Asia (especially a Chinese measure equal to 500 grams)
   synonyms: cattie

   type of:

   weight, weight unit

   a unit used to measure weight