pu·ri·tan
ˈpyu̇r-ə-tən 
1
capitalized
: a member of a 16th and 17th century Protestant group in England and New England opposing as unscriptural the ceremonial worship and the prelacy of the Church of England
2
: one who practices or preaches a more rigorous or professedly purer moral code than that which prevails
Examples of puritan in a Sentence
Noun
Some of the town's puritans still maintain that sex education has no place in the schools.
Recent Examples on the Web
Clark Collis, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Naysayers and scene puritans are too late to tear down Turnstile; the Baltimore band heard it all before its third album even dropped anyway.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
The city of puritan cant, left-wing pomp, and the meanest ...
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 4 Jan. 2024
Obviously quitting drinking is not going to turn you into any kind of puritan.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Jan. 2023
Across much of Europe, Merkel—that Protestant minister’s daughter—is resented as a rigid, self-righteous puritan, while support for the E.U. has fallen to historic lows.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2021
John Winthrop was an English puritan and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony.
—The Rev. Mike Taylor, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 12 Sep. 2020
Instead of living in fear of office puritans, aim to delight them.
—Jacob Brogan, chicagotribune.com, 4 Oct. 2019
The sometimes austere looks at times summoned images or elements of puritans, nuns, and schoolmarms — all with a subversive fashion edge.
—Colleen Barry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2019
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2025
The anticipation of a world grown stale, the rot of what America had left behind ever ready to encroach, was of a piece with the puritan hunger for utopia.
—Andrew Moore, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Some of the right is still very puritan, like this uproar over Drag Queen Story Hours at libraries.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2023
Arie Untung, the founder of HijrahFest, said the group was frequently criticized by other Muslims for not being puritan enough.
—Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2023
But Auden introduced, or tried to, a certain kind of irony into American poetry, even as America was teaching him the revelations of a more puritan, more direct way of being, or of reporting being.
—Nick Laird, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023
Raised by rope, flames engulfing her sights, a priest holds a puritan porcelain doll taunting the familiar promise of a story involving wrongfully accused witches and judicial skullduggery — an early narrative fakeout.
—Robert Daniels, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2021
Few people are puritan enough to forgo all of life's pleasures, not even a quiet drink or a hot bath.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 2 Jan. 2011
American to-do behavior has a deeply puritan streak.
—Clive Thompson, Wired, 27 July 2021
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Noun
Centuries after being burned at the stake, a witch named Jennifer (Veronica Lake) magically reappears and tries to torment the descendant of the puritan who led the charge against her — only to fall in love with him.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Naysayers and scene puritans are too late to tear down Turnstile; the Baltimore band heard it all before its third album even dropped anyway.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
The city of puritan cant, left-wing pomp, and the meanest ...
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 4 Jan. 2024
Obviously quitting drinking is not going to turn you into any kind of puritan.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Jan. 2023
Across much of Europe, Merkel—that Protestant minister’s daughter—is resented as a rigid, self-righteous puritan, while support for the E.U. has fallen to historic lows.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2021
John Winthrop was an English puritan and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony.
—The Rev. Mike Taylor, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 12 Sep. 2020
Instead of living in fear of office puritans, aim to delight them.
—Jacob Brogan, chicagotribune.com, 4 Oct. 2019
The sometimes austere looks at times summoned images or elements of puritans, nuns, and schoolmarms — all with a subversive fashion edge.
—Colleen Barry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2019
Adjective
Other endangered species include the puritan tiger beetle, which is only found along the Connecticut River and in Maryland.
—Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2025
The anticipation of a world grown stale, the rot of what America had left behind ever ready to encroach, was of a piece with the puritan hunger for utopia.
—Andrew Moore, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Some of the right is still very puritan, like this uproar over Drag Queen Story Hours at libraries.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2023
Arie Untung, the founder of HijrahFest, said the group was frequently criticized by other Muslims for not being puritan enough.
—Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2023
But Auden introduced, or tried to, a certain kind of irony into American poetry, even as America was teaching him the revelations of a more puritan, more direct way of being, or of reporting being.
—Nick Laird, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023
Raised by rope, flames engulfing her sights, a priest holds a puritan porcelain doll taunting the familiar promise of a story involving wrongfully accused witches and judicial skullduggery — an early narrative fakeout.
—Robert Daniels, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2021
Few people are puritan enough to forgo all of life's pleasures, not even a quiet drink or a hot bath.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 2 Jan. 2011
American to-do behavior has a deeply puritan streak.
—Clive Thompson, Wired, 27 July 2021
Cite this Entry
“Puritan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puritan. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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