Synonyms of prig

prig

noun

as in puritan

disapproving someone who annoys people by being very careful about proper behavior and by criticizing the behavior of other people

She is too much of a prig for my liking.

Related Words

• puritan
• moralist
• prude
• spoilsport
• fuddy-duddy
• old maid
• stuffed shirt
• moralizer
• bluenose
• wowser
• Mrs. Grundy
• goody-goody
• nice nelly
• Goody Two-shoes

Dissimilar Words

• libertine
• libertarian
• immoralist
• misbehaver

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of prig

Compared to the spontaneous, high-spirited, and witty heroines of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma, Fanny Price is a prig. — Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026

Noel Coward’s once-scandalous comedy of prigs amid the petit fours gets a deliciously tart revival at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company, crisply directed by former artistic director Tom Ross. — Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024

Even girls, against the advice of monks and prigs, were taught to read and write. — Claudia Roth Pierpont, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024

The 21st century has been a boon to young abstainers who reject the word alcoholic, and to anyone who wants to quit drinking without becoming a sad sack or a prig. — Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022

In keeping with the prevailing public narrative, Charles is presented as a heartless prig, virtually a cartoon villain. — BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2021