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

Ink has great fun dramatizing how the staid postwar consensus — a world of snobbery, dignity, and unions — was eclipsed by The Sun’s muscular populism.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of staid

Adjective

In the decades since, the piece has evolved to be made with leather cords instead—an alternative to the traditional stuffy tie—and worn by cowboys while riding.

— Christian Allaire, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
The brothers have close to four hundred and fifty thousand followers across Instagram and TikTok, hailing largely from a young demographic that’s often wary of wine and its stuffy traditions.

— Arthur Holland Michel, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of stuffy

Adjective

With an almost puritanical zeal, Pavese sought to banish rhetoric and image.

— Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
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

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

There’s no prim and proper dress code here—just fashion at its most entertaining.

— Amanda Le, InStyle, 27 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of prim

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priggery

priggish

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“Priggish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/priggish. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of priggish

adjective

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