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
Advertisement 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
Noun
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
Advertisement 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
-
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
-
David Corenswet plays, quite literally, a stick-in-the-mud character.—
Brian Davids,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Adjective
-
The mobius-thinking at times almost seems like Medieval Zen, what with the emphasis on emptiness and silent meditation, and in fact that was what the Church fathers objected to most: too much quiet, solitary contemplation, not enough pious instruction.—
Jon Raymond
August 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
-
This may well sound like something that would’ve been played as a pious Christian allegory in another era.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Substitute crab for sautéed cooked shrimp.—
Elizabeth Mervosh,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Highlights include a shareable chef's whim butter board, baked crab dip, snow crab avocado stack, short rib mac and cheese, salt and vinegar fish and chips, bayou baby back ribs and prime grade filet mignon.—
Endia Fontanez,
AZCentral.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The heroine of Mansfield Park, Fanny Price, is the most moralistic young person in her household (and the most ignored).—
Emily Zarevich,
JSTOR Daily,
11 Sep. 2025
-
What matters is a heavy focus on aesthetic and moralistic perfection.—
Olivia Crandall,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And then there’s Carrie, who is a heightened version of her lesser traits from SATC: prudish, private and lacking in humility.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
-
But Townsend Warner’s takedown of prudish Victorian morality is only getting started.—
B. Pietras
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
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
Adjective
-
Just enough with the sanctimonious explanations.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The point here was clear for those who chose to listen: the President doesn’t care one bit about all those sanctimonious calls for healing.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Goody-goody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goody-goody. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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