as in puritan
a person who is greatly concerned with seemly behavior and morality especially regarding sexual matters
the racy sitcom frequently satirizes exactly the sort of prude who would like to see the show taken off the air
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Recent Examples of prude
In fact, the prudes among us might need hand fans.
—
Sandra Gonzalez, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Give the Original ‘Twister’ a Spin Barbara Peeters is no prude.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 19 July 2024
Despite a handful of prudes trying their best to spoil the fun.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 4 July 2024
This does not necessarily me a narc or a prude.
—Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 9 Nov. 2022
Not that Fierstein suddenly became a prude.
—Vulture, 25 Apr. 2022
In life, there is little evidence that Dickens was, in the context of his time and place, a sexist or a prude.
—The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2022
Yet writers are eager to join in the jokes about the humorless prude who wants to stifle academic freedom, rather than trying to understand the whole story.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2010
Sandra Gonzalez, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Give the Original ‘Twister’ a Spin Barbara Peeters is no prude.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 19 July 2024
Despite a handful of prudes trying their best to spoil the fun.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 4 July 2024
This does not necessarily me a narc or a prude.
—Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 9 Nov. 2022
Not that Fierstein suddenly became a prude.
—Vulture, 25 Apr. 2022
In life, there is little evidence that Dickens was, in the context of his time and place, a sexist or a prude.
—The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2022
Yet writers are eager to join in the jokes about the humorless prude who wants to stifle academic freedom, rather than trying to understand the whole story.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prude
puritan
Noun
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However, rather than blithely dismiss the consequences of legalization with eye-rolling contempt for the puritans, supporters should confront the adverse societal effects of cannabis — the pervasive urban stench, the traffic deaths and the pernicious effects on youth.—
Cory Franklin,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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Austere antiquity is in constant conflict with more sensual, modern impulses — a tension that feels productive applied to a story of the Shakers, puritans whom time has proven too pure for this world.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prude. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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