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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 prim
Nearly everyone sprints around the auditorium for 20 minutes, collecting balls, Slinky toys, mesh nets, string flags, and poster boards, but Madeline — whom the show hasn’t spent much time with, but remember that her aesthetic is more vintage, even prim — is struggling.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Those huge bug-eye shades, for instance, feel way more edgy and downtown compared to her prim-and-proper skirt.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 14 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
At Prada and Saint Laurent, models wore prim pumps, mirroring the fashion set’s current obsession with office-ready kitten heels and slingbacks.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prim
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Those huge bug-eye shades, for instance, feel way more edgy and downtown compared to her prim-and-proper skirt.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 14 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
At Prada and Saint Laurent, models wore prim pumps, mirroring the fashion set’s current obsession with office-ready kitten heels and slingbacks.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prim
Adjective
-
Southerners know the importance of keeping a clean and tidy house.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Financial details remain undisclosed, but international presales moved briskly at film markets over the past year, suggesting Yeon and his collaborators have likely already made a tidy return.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 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
-
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
-
The lack of any real surprises or subversions along the way can be a drag, making the Prime Video miniseries feel a bit padded even at a relatively trim six hour-long episodes.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The standard trim, layer, and fine-tune features are all here, plus elements like automatic captions, text, 4K HDR, and more.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Shiite Iran feared the regional ascendance of Sunni radicalism in the form of the puritanical Taliban, an ambitious al-Qaeda, and other militant factions, as well as further instability on its eastern border—Iran was then, and remains now, home to many Afghan refugees.—
Vali Nasr,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Indeed, one of the reasons some men left the League was their perception that the institution treated women too preciously and that the school administration labored to cultivate a puritanical atmosphere in a place that was by nature loose and raucous.—
Anne Halsey,
JSTOR Daily,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Some of Chelsea’s other successful corner routines haven’t been quite as neat, with a series of half-clearances and scuffed contacts forcing scraps in the six-yard box before other teammates could apply the finishing touch.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Charles Marquis Warren’s direction pinpoints the action with neat perfection.—
Hal Landers,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But the selling was orderly and a two-day breach of the 50-day moving average turned out to have been a false breakdown, quickly overcome by the bulls.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
8 Sep. 2025
-
An orderly walked past the room where my psychiatrist and I were sitting, and then walked past again.—
Miriam Toews
September 3,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prim. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share