Definition of prudenext
as in puritan
a person who is greatly concerned with seemly behavior and morality especially regarding sexual matters the racy sitcom frequently satirizes exactly the sort of prude who would like to see the show taken off the air

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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 prude Give the Original ‘Twister’ a Spin Barbara Peeters is no prude. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 19 July 2024 Despite a handful of prudes trying their best to spoil the fun. — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 4 July 2024 Everyone supports her but her boyfriend, who initially accuses her of being a prude. — Ilana Kaplan, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2022 In life, there is little evidence that Dickens was, in the context of his time and place, a sexist or a prude. — The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2022 See All Example Sentences for prude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prude
puritan
Noun
  • Unlike the High Church Swift, Defoe was a puritan (in many things), and where the former was suspicious of the economic instrumentalization that turned people into commodities, the latter was positively bullish on the market economy.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Its students arrive morally outraged, a priori puritans, while its professors are enervated and dissatisfied.
    — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Prude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prude. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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