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
To some, Superman is a fuddy-duddy in a cape.
—Ken Makin, Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 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
To some, Superman is a fuddy-duddy in a cape.
—Ken Makin, Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 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
-
Many conservatives expressed concern over taxpayer money going to the ballroom, however, and have sought to authorize the project without funding it directly.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
-
There has been a lot of pearl-clutching concern among both liberals and conservatives about New York City’s future — and the nation’s — with socialist Mayor Mamdani.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
United produced a string of stodgy displays in February and March.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
3 May 2026
-
Luxury ships often lean stodgy, yet Silver Nova offers that upbeat, higher-energy feel that upper-premium and premium lines provide.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Purrazzo also has the opportunity to help veterans and first-responders in need.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
In 1984, Monsanto and six other chemical companies agreed to pay a $180 million settlement to Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the chemical herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish playing Aunt Sassy, a dowdy sidekick character.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
There’s no old fogey-ness to Lorne.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2026
-
For the benefit of us old fogies?—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But rather than simply repeat the even-then ossified list of events leading to the invention of photography and the medium’s later innovations, the book uses a series of stories, reminiscences, and tall tales to describe how photography transformed everyday (and not so everyday) experience.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
-
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
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 13 May. 2026.
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