catfish
n. countablen. a person who pretends to be someone else online, usually by using fake photos. You use this word when someone is not who they say they are on the internet.
n. a person who creates a false online identity, typically by using photographs of another person, to deceive others in social or romantic interactions. Informal register; common in digital communication contexts.
She found out her boyfriend was a catfish.
He suspected his new online friend was a catfish because the photos looked too perfect.
The documentary explores how digital catfish exploit the vulnerability of lonely individuals seeking genuine connection in the age of social media.
From cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers. Compare West Frisian katfisk (“catfish”), Dutch katvis (“catfish”). Compare also German Seekatze (“catfish”, literally “sea-cat”).
From the 2010 documentary Catfish, supposedly inspired by the practice of fishermen keeping cod active by storing them with catfish (see sense 1) which nip at their tails.
- Nouncat
- Nouncatfish