as in stick-in-the-mud
informal + disapproving
a person (such as a child) whose good behavior and politeness are annoying because they seem to be excessive or not sincere
The other kids don't like her because she's a goody-goody.
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in pious
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in priggish
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of goody-goody
Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024
But the tension between evil Max and goody-goody Pippa makes my heart do backflips.
—Fletcher Peters, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024
Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The Trump rule presumed these goody-goody considerations got in the way of profitability and that a retirement adviser who accommodated them couldn’t fulfill his professional responsibility to maximize his client’s return.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 3 Mar. 2023
Adjective
This somewhat spotty touring production stars Lauren Samuels as the misunderstood villain Elphaba and Austen Danielle Bohmer as the goody-goody Glinda, the iconic characters originally played by Idina Mendel and Kristin Chenoweth.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024
But the tension between evil Max and goody-goody Pippa makes my heart do backflips.
—Fletcher Peters, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024
Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The Trump rule presumed these goody-goody considerations got in the way of profitability and that a retirement adviser who accommodated them couldn’t fulfill his professional responsibility to maximize his client’s return.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 3 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goody-goody
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
Adjective
-
His political campaign is spinning into high gear, posting videos showing him as a pious governor holding a Bible, praying and hugging pastors.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Singh, who would be our local guide, always wore the five traits of a pious Sikh man — uncut hair (symbolizing strength and holiness and topped by the identifying turban), a steel bracelet, wooden comb, sheathed dagger and a baggy undergarment dating back to the Sikhs’ warrior days on horses.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Boarding school has been making Muck boys into ugly, priggish little men for generations.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Ghaywan’s script is explicit but never priggish in its moral standing, letting the outstanding performances drive home the perils of bigotry more than any grandstanding dialogue.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Unlike most crab cakes, which use bread to bind and extend the crab meat, Barnum-Dann’s are tiny pucks of 100 percent crab meat in a Meyer lemon aioli, lightly breaded on the outside and fried until golden.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The menu features warm, hearty favorites like buttermilk sea salt biscuits, crab mozzarella sticks, and rotisserie piri piri chicken.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The United States went to war in 2001 and 2003 with a very moralistic, very crusading view of war, a very black-and-white view that there were good guys and bad guys, and America would wield the swift sword of justice.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
10 Jan. 2026
-
To rebuild a consensus, politicians must thus appeal to these swing voters by eschewing moralistic and globalist rhetoric.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Statistics like these have become part of a discussion about whether the culture is growing prudish and puritanical.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
My favorite stereotype is the one where Germans think Americans are prudish.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2025
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
Adjective
-
The spiral of events that follow ups the pathos while quietly commenting on rigid patriarchal rules, male privilege, sanctimonious moral posturing, the denial of women’s bodily autonomy and contempt for otherness, things all still very much with us today.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Feb. 2026
-
There’s nothing sanctimonious about insisting on civil rights for transgender people nor about fighting for racial justice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Goody-goody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goody-goody. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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