goody-goody 1 of 2

as in stick-in-the-mud
informal + disapproving a person (such as a child) whose good behavior and politeness are annoying because they seem to be excessive or not sincere The other kids don't like her because she's a goody-goody.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

goody-goody

2 of 2

adjective

Examples of goody-goody in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
This somewhat spotty touring production stars Lauren Samuels as the misunderstood villain Elphaba and Austen Danielle Bohmer as the goody-goody Glinda, the iconic characters originally played by Idina Mendel and Kristin Chenoweth. Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024 Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène. Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023 The Trump rule presumed these goody-goody considerations got in the way of profitability and that a retirement adviser who accommodated them couldn’t fulfill his professional responsibility to maximize his client’s return. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 3 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'goody-goody.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Thesaurus Entries Near goody-goody

Cite this Entry

“Goody-goody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goody-goody. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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