as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas
a fuddy-duddy who thought that anyone too young to vote shouldn't be out past 8:00 p.m.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in stodgy
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Recent Examples of fuddy-duddy
William Earl, Variety, 30 Nov. 2025
Her characters were women whose roles often implied their own eventual replacements: teachers, fading former love interests, fuddy-duddy old-fashioned relics.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
The good news is that for every fuddy-duddy like myself who can’t seem to get on board with crowdfunding kids’ lives, there are twice as many generous, kind-hearted individuals willing to give a little—or a lot—toward schools, sports, and charities.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 3 Feb. 2024
Another group of screenwriters have mocked Ms. Lombardini online as a fuddy-duddy who hangs out at chain restaurants, the taunt being that no Hollywood person would be caught dead in one.
—John Koblin, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Noun
For someone who’s constantly on speakerphone, Tommy sure is a fuddy-duddy about using it correctly.
—William Earl, Variety, 30 Nov. 2025
Her characters were women whose roles often implied their own eventual replacements: teachers, fading former love interests, fuddy-duddy old-fashioned relics.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
The good news is that for every fuddy-duddy like myself who can’t seem to get on board with crowdfunding kids’ lives, there are twice as many generous, kind-hearted individuals willing to give a little—or a lot—toward schools, sports, and charities.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 3 Feb. 2024
Another group of screenwriters have mocked Ms. Lombardini online as a fuddy-duddy who hangs out at chain restaurants, the taunt being that no Hollywood person would be caught dead in one.
—John Koblin, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fuddy-duddy
Noun
-
The speaker is considered a religious and social conservative within Iranian politics.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Kennedy, a fiscal conservative, wants to pay for its costs, though that detail will need to be worked out with other senators.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Against Palace last week, his 75th-minute introduction for Sesko helped speed up United’s movement down the right-hand side, unclogging a stodgy attack.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Roll the Calls shatters the mold of stodgy CEO memoirs.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For three innings against the Washington Nationals, Boyd pitched like the veteran who earned his All-Star honor a year ago.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
DeRozan, a 36-year-old veteran in his 17th NBA season, had another big game less than two weeks after posting 41 points and 11 assists in a win over the Utah Jazz.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Memorably dowdy fashion notwithstanding, the juicy role — part Nurse Ratched, part Jack Torrance — launched Bates into the Hollywood ether following years of false starts.—
Darren Franich,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
-
RoseMarie Terenzio, John’s hip and competent assistant, returns for a brief cameo, looking even more dowdy and ridiculous.—
Lisa DePaulo,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Now the 10% is for stubborn old fogies who refuse to change their ways and try something new.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Old fogey-ish, ungrateful and stupid.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Lockhart, a mathematician who taught first at Brown University and UC Santa Cruz and then for many years at Saint Ann’s, a progressive private school in Brooklyn, argues that the injury is due to our ossified K–12 mathematics curriculum.—
Dan Rockmore,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
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The collective dream was for a new, democratic structure that could replace Assad’s ossified legal regime.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Bostwick starred as the naive stick-in-the-mud and fiancé of Janice, Brad.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
In the Herbert Ross film, Bacon played big-city teen Ren McCormack, who moves to the small town of Bomont, where its stick-in-the-mud local minster, the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), has instituted a ban on dancing.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
9 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Fuddy-duddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fuddy-duddy. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
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