puritanical
adjective
pu·ri·tan·i·cal
ˌpyu̇r-ə-ˈta-ni-kəl 
1
: of, relating to, or characterized by a rigid morality
2
: puritan
Examples of puritanical in a Sentence
some of the state laws concerning sexual behavior are vestiges of a more puritanical time and are rarely, if ever, enforced
Recent Examples on the Web
Over the past few years, generational warfare has only ramped up—so much so that it’s become boring to even reference: Gen Z hating on millennials for being cringe, millennials hating on Gen Z for being puritanical, and everyone hating on boomers for being, well, boomers.
—
Daisy Jones, Vogue, 3 May 2025
His subject, Nandy told me, exhibited all the traits of an authoritarian personality: puritanical rigidity, a constricted emotional life, fear of his own passions, and an enormous ego that protected a gnawing insecurity.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
While the #MeToo movement toppled scores of powerful men in Hollywood, in France it was viewed suspiciously by some as a puritanical American import that was tainting an essential part of France’s intellectual and cultural identity.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Raising the stakes were the injunctions of the Hays Code, whose puritanical rules demanded that studio filmmakers in Hollywood shy away from depictions of interracial romance.
—Mayukh Sen, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2025
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Daisy Jones, Vogue, 3 May 2025
His subject, Nandy told me, exhibited all the traits of an authoritarian personality: puritanical rigidity, a constricted emotional life, fear of his own passions, and an enormous ego that protected a gnawing insecurity.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
While the #MeToo movement toppled scores of powerful men in Hollywood, in France it was viewed suspiciously by some as a puritanical American import that was tainting an essential part of France’s intellectual and cultural identity.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Raising the stakes were the injunctions of the Hays Code, whose puritanical rules demanded that studio filmmakers in Hollywood shy away from depictions of interracial romance.
—Mayukh Sen, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puritanical
Cite this Entry
“Puritanical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puritanical. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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