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goody-goody 1 of 2

noun

Definition of goody-goodynext
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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goody-goody

2 of 2

adjective

1
as in pious

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2
as in priggish

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of goody-goody
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goody-goody
  1. stick-in-the-mud
  2. pious
  3. priggish
  4. crab
  5. moralistic
  6. prudish
  7. fuddy-duddy
  8. sanctimonious
Noun
  • One only has to think about the British fight against Nazism to be reminded that it was made of imperialists, constitutionalists, stick-in-the-mud aristocrats, and the socialists who first helped put Winston Churchill into power and then five years later helped push him out again.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • But opposing him is Stagg, a Scottish, stick-in-the-mud academic (which is saying a lot by most weather men’s personality standards), who insists on making the team’s joint recommendation exclusively using the current observational data available to Allied forces.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
Definition of stick-in-the-mud
Adjective
  • Preachers and patricians constantly warned that, if allowed to live unchecked in the city, Jews would ‘infect’ the Christian faithful, poisoning the minds of the pious and stealing souls away from salvation.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Romania is one of the most pious countries in the European Union, with around 85% of the population identifying as religious.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of pious
Adjective
  • Self-righteous and self-important, priggish and nagging.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 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
Definition of priggish
Noun
  • Fresh lump crab meat, three cheeses, and a few tangy and spicy ingredients meld into one dreamy dip.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Reach uses a crab trap to disarm a G-man brandishing an On the Waterfront–style hook.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of crab
Adjective
  • If the senator’s moralism has been unfettered by his stroke, with a shift toward right-brain moralistic processing, that does not diminish his sincere intent or its effect.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Navy excels at untangling human emotions and picking through them without being didactic or moralistic.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026
Definition of moralistic
Adjective
  • Leigh and Olivier, both still married to other people, had to keep their affair under wraps in prudish America.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026
  • But rather than interrogate this evil premise, the movie instead feels quite prudish.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of prudish
Noun
  • How consumers -- especially younger drinkers -- answer them will determine whether an industry long defined by fuddy-duddy pretense can find its footing in 2026 and beyond.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 June 2026
  • In the years that followed, American landscape painting was shuffled off to storage to make room for modernism, and paintings like Church’s, with their glassy finishes and profuse detail, came to seem the embodiment of fuddy-duddy.
    — Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 13 June 2026
Definition of fuddy-duddy
Adjective
  • The thing is, McEnany, co-creator Tim Mason, and a team of executive producers that included Lilly Wachowski as well as Sweeney immediately subvert any expectation of a sanctimonious or self-serious exploration of identity.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
  • This, rather than sanctimonious display, is what should motivate Christians.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of sanctimonious

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goody-goodies
goody-goody
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Cite this Entry

“Goody-goody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goody-goody. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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