prissy

adjective

Definition of prissynext
as in nice
informal + disapproving having or showing the annoying attitude of people who care too much about dressing and behaving properly and who are easily upset by other people's behavior, language, etc. She was too prissy to wear jeans. a prissy do-gooder

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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 prissy The composer shows himself a cartoonish James Bond-type, battling with his prissy critics, while also dallying with his seductive wife, who is represented in opulent violin solos. — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026 As Berenger’s prissy friend Gene, the character who transforms the most during the course of the play, Phillip Taratula changes in both body and soul. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Mar. 2026 Only on Industry can listening to one’s conscience come off as prissy and weak. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026 Despite its heavy premise, the movie also has absurdities, among them Conan O’Brien as a judgmental, prissy therapist. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2025 Albee's 1962 play won a Tony Award, and would have also won a Pulitzer Prize for drama, if the prissy trustees of Columbia University hadn't overruled the jury. — Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2023 McGregor speaks with a prissy American accent that in its own way is as expressive as Ray’s trumpet playing. — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Oct. 2022 After her father’s death, Delilah Green grew up in the company of her frosty stepmother, Isabel, and prissy stepsister, Astrid—so as soon as high school was over, Delilah left town and never looked back. — Keely Weiss, Harper's BAZAAR, 25 Feb. 2022 Bows may seem prissy, but there's actually surprisingly versatile. — Bella Cacciatore, Glamour, 9 Dec. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prissy
  1. nice
  2. demanding
  3. delicate
  4. particular
  5. careful
  6. prim
  7. finicky
  8. critical
Adjective
  • There's also a small flip up carry loop, which is a nice feature for a bottle with a comparably wide diameter.
    — Emily Farris, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Nor are there many studios with two full baths, a nice perk owed to the combination of two apartments and potentially a key to relationship harmony in the mornings.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of nice
Adjective
  • That night, somewhere between a racist stranger, a free dessert, my girlfriend publicly shaming a man in a Mediterranean restaurant and our demanding cat, the City of Angels started to feel like home.
    — Mayur Chauhan, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • And the longer or more demanding the workout, the more important such fuel becomes.
    — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of demanding
Adjective
  • The only way to safely examine these delicate remains is through highly sensitive techniques like neutron imaging.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Although combining these delicate thin films usually causes damage and blocks light, special protection layers and modified electrodes overcome these assembly issues to maximize power output.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of delicate
Adjective
  • Podded propulsion offers particular advantages in this environment.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Tall goalkeepers have traditionally had to deal with a particular technical problem.
    — Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of particular
Adjective
  • Getting to that point required careful control of stress during fabrication.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Huntsinger, playing along with Variety’s should-win/will-win Emmy prediction game, drew a careful line.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of careful
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
Adjective
  • Moisture trapped in the ground allows finicky crops such as onions and peanuts to grow.
    — Adrien Marotte, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Their odds of winning the World Series – a famously finicky task prone to small sample size flukes – were over 25%, one-in-four for one of baseball’s 30 teams.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of finicky
Adjective
  • And although there were some critical mistakes from Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway, the new Baylor QB made big-time throws, showed grit while playing through injury and had the Bears in position to win in the final moments.
    — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • GlobalFoundries and Monarch Quantum will give the company domestic manufacturing partners for two critical parts of its systems.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of critical

Browse Nearby Words

prisons
prissy
pristine
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Cite this Entry

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

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