verb Internet Slang

Kittenfishing

/ˈkɪtənfɪʃɪŋ/ · verb · slang

Catfishing lite, where you misrepresent yourself with old photos, filters, or little white lies.

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Definitions

1

Presenting a slightly dishonest version of yourself on dating apps, like using heavily edited or years-old photos and exaggerating your height, job, or interests, without fully faking your identity.

“His pics were five years and two stone ago, total kittenfishing.”
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2

Used to describe the small embellishments people make to seem more appealing.

“Adding two inches to your height on your profile is peak kittenfishing.”
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3

The milder cousin of catfishing, where the person is real but the marketing is misleading.

“Kittenfishing isn't a fake person, just a heavily filtered one.”
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Kittenfishing In A Sentence

Showed up looking nothing like his photos, classic kittenfishing.
I'm done with apps, everyone's kittenfishing with filters now.
She wasn't catfishing exactly, more kittenfishing with a good ring light.

Origin & Usage

Coined by Hinge in 2017 as a softer relative of 'catfishing'. The 'kitten' marks it as a smaller, less deceptive version. Spread through dating-app culture and media.

Variants KittenfishKittenfisher
Tags #gen-z#dating#internet#catfish#social-media

People Also Ask

What does kittenfishing mean on dating apps?

It's misrepresenting yourself in small ways, like using old or heavily filtered photos and exaggerating details, without faking your whole identity.

How is kittenfishing different from catfishing?

Catfishing is pretending to be a completely different or fake person. Kittenfishing is the real you, just dishonestly upgraded.

Is kittenfishing a big deal?

It's less severe than catfishing, but it still erodes trust because the person you meet doesn't match the profile they sold you.

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