1
as in tidy
being clean and in good order
behind the bed-and-breakfast is a prim little garden where guests are served afternoon tea
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in Victorian
given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals
a very prim and proper matron was in charge of the girls' dorm
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prim
The second part, Mother, features Charlotte Rampling as a chilly English author living in Dublin, where her daughters — prim Timothea (Blanchett) and pink-haired wild child Lilith (Vicky Krieps) — have moved to be closer to her and yet see her once a year for afternoon tea.
—
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Baron was gentle, fatherly, and prim.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Men were letting their hair grow past their shoulders, women were tying theirs in bandannas, and amid the weed and the cobblestones, the prim full skirts of the 1950s were laughably old hat.
—Air Mail, 9 Aug. 2025
The situation also demonstrated the ways that Morgan — a modest, diminutive woman out of the Victorian era, given to wearing prim suits and her hair pinned back into a bun — didn’t conform to a popular idea of the genius American architect whose buildings define eras.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for prim
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Baron was gentle, fatherly, and prim.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Men were letting their hair grow past their shoulders, women were tying theirs in bandannas, and amid the weed and the cobblestones, the prim full skirts of the 1950s were laughably old hat.
—Air Mail, 9 Aug. 2025
The situation also demonstrated the ways that Morgan — a modest, diminutive woman out of the Victorian era, given to wearing prim suits and her hair pinned back into a bun — didn’t conform to a popular idea of the genius American architect whose buildings define eras.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for prim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prim
Adjective
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Keep work areas outside of your home as clean and tidy as possible.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Breda, the detective, cited this as a tidy explanation for White’s alleged crime.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Sherlock Holmes series adds a touch of Victorian charm with rich wood paneling, brass accents, and cozy reading nooks perfect for sleuthing through your own novels.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Aug. 2025
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In the 2001 episode shot above Times Square, the poet Michael Stipe sits regal in a Victorian skirt and peppers Automatic for the People and Reveal songs with a rant about George Bush’s nuclear energy policy.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This method for choosing a color scheme pairs a soft neutral for the walls, a crisp white for trim, baseboards, and ceilings, and a deeper version of the wall color for doors or window frames.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 Oct. 2025
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Ly Varey Lin Faux Shearling Moto Jacket Lavo has been seeing faux fur and shearling everywhere this season — most commonly along the trim, collar, and lining of jackets and accessories.—
Rylee Johnston,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Ed’s mother was said to be a fanatically puritanical figure who isolated him from others, convinced the rest of society was evil.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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In a strange puritanical gesture, the kiss was cut.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This versatile set includes multiple cube sizes, plus a dedicated accessories bag, shoe bag, large laundry bag, and a hanging cosmetics case to keep your essentials neat from takeoff to touchdown.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Oct. 2025
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When a prosperous farming family was murdered in their own home in cold blood for no reason at all by two young male ex-cons, the image of a neat, safe, mid-20th century rural American life was shattered.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Other reforms introduced under Roosevelt included the founding of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which had a mandate to protect investors and maintain fair and orderly markets, and the federal insurance of bank deposits, which ended a calamitous wave of bank runs.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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War would also mean no deliberate, orderly transfer of some 12,000 Islamic State detainees from Kurdish to Syrian state prisons.—
Hassan Hassan,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prim. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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