as in fogey
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fuddy-duddy
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 June 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
And that’s part of what the Oscars, in their slightly fuddy-duddy way, can do: confer respectability on popular movies that represent groundbreaking achievement.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023
Adjective
The father, Buddy Smart (Bryan Cranston), is the clan’s second-rate crackpot visionary, a cockeyed optimist who dresses in fuddy-duddy jackets and never knows where the next paycheck is coming from.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 June 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
And that’s part of what the Oscars, in their slightly fuddy-duddy way, can do: confer respectability on popular movies that represent groundbreaking achievement.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fuddy-duddy
Adjective
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The event also served as the debut for HPE’s new brand mark, refreshing a stodgy and text-heavy logo by incorporating a variation on Hewlett Packard’s iconic green badge that is meant to appear open to the future.—
Will Townsend,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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My intention was to suggest a consensus approach that could overcome the stodgy staff guarding the City’s credit rating to try something new.—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation’s debt, are pushing for steeper cuts.—
Alicia Adamczyk,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
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Three of the court’s conservatives – Roberts, Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh – joined the three liberals in rejecting conservative challenges to Obamacare and to an internet subsidy program.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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The dowdy and shy Ursula is diabetic and has lost her eyesight in one eye.—
Michelle F. Solomon,
Miami Herald,
15 May 2025
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Machi plays a dowdy tax inspector closing in on a Shakira-style Latina singer for tax fraud.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
15 May 2025
Noun
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Vance, a Marine veteran, is touring a multi-agency Federal Joint Operations Center as well as a Federal Mobile Command Center.—
Sarah Beth Hensley,
ABC News,
20 June 2025
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According to Whitney Decker, Travis Decker, a veteran, was suffering from mental health issues at the time.—
Sophie Clark,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fuddy-duddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fuddy-duddy. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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