Word Study
catty
CIDE DICTIONARY
catty, n. [Malay katī. See Caddy.].
An East Indian Weight of 1\'a7 pounds. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
catty, adj. (cattier, cattiest)
1 sly, spiteful; deliberately hurtful in speech.
2 catlike.
1 sly, spiteful; deliberately hurtful in speech.
2 catlike.
Derivative
cattily adv. cattiness n.
THESAURUS
catty
abusive, active, back-biting, belittling, bitchy, brisk, calumniatory, calumnious, catlike, cattish, censorious, contemptuous, contumelious, defamatory, deprecatory, depreciative, depreciatory, derisive, derisory, derogative, derogatory, despiteful, detractory, disparaging, evil, felid, feline, fretful, furtive, hateful, kittenish, leonine, libelous, lionlike, lively, malevolent, minimizing, nagging, naggy, nimble, peevish, pejorative, pettish, petulant, querulous, rancorous, resentful, ridiculing, scandalous, scurrile, scurrilous, shrewish, slanderous, slighting, spiteful, sprightly, spry, tigerish, vicious, vilifying, vixenish, vixenly, volant, wicked, zippyROGET THESAURUS
catty
Detraction
N detraction, disparagement, depreciation, vilification, obloquy, scurrility, scandal, defamation, aspersion, traducement, slander, calumny, obtrectation, evil-speaking, backbiting, scandalum magnatum, personality, libel, lampoon, skit, pasquinade, chronique scandaleuse, roorback, sarcasm, cynicism, criticism (disapprobation), invective, envenomed tongue, spretae injuria formae, personality, libel, lampoon, skit, pasquinade, chronique scandaleuse, roorback, detractor, detracting, defamatory, detractory, derogatory, deprecatory, catty, disparaging, libelous, scurrile, scurrilous, abusive, foul- spoken, foul-tongued, foul-mouthed, slanderous, calumnious, calumniatory, sarcastic, sardonic, sarcastic, satirical, cynical, critical, damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, and without sneering, teach the rest to sneer, another lie nailed to the counter, cut men's throats with whisperings, foul whisperings are abroad, soft-buzzing slander, virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes.For further exploring for "catty" in Webster Dictionary Online