PRIGGISH Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

priggish

adjective

Definition of priggish

as in staid

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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 priggish 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for priggish

Adjective

But Ossoff has also dedicated much of his Senate investigative focus to bipartisan probes on more staid topics like abuse in the foster care system, prison conditions and maternal mortality.

— Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
Investors have been going back and forth on how big of a threat generative artificial intelligence models are to staid software companies.

— Jordan Novet, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of staid

Adjective

But rather than interrogate this evil premise, the movie instead feels quite prudish.

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
Cross-dressing was prohibited, as were speeches that mocked or questioned the party’s prudish, pro-family, heteronormative views on gender and sexuality; traditional German culture was to be celebrated, not mocked.

— Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2026

Definition of prudish

Adjective

Our culture is losing sight of the value of knowledge and literacy, embracing instead ideas that are surface-level, puritanical and uncomplicated.

— Mckenna Friedland, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Students marched against the Vietnam War, demanded racial and gender justice, challenged puritanical norms, and torched symbols of establishment power.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of puritanical

Adjective

Maki is spunky and more tomboy-ish, while Omura is the more straightlaced and serious of the two.

— Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 7 July 2026
Six decades after the fact, even a straitlaced researcher such as myself can still wonder about a thing or two—an ex-CIA guy here, a Cuban paramilitary group there.

— Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 20 June 2026

Definition of straitlaced

Adjective

As Mona loses herself in her character, a building superintendent named Miss Danielle, her wardrobe, courtesy of costume designer Stacey Battat, goes from prim cardigans to ripped jeans to an actual coverall she’s stolen from a janitor.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
Add heeled ballerinas, keep the rest of your outfit relatively unfussy, and let the contrast between prim and polished do the hard work.

— Georgia Brown, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of prim

Browse Nearby Words

priggery

priggish

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“Priggish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/priggish. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of priggish

adjective

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