as in puritanical
given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals
by the prudish standards of the 19th century, any depiction of the nude was scandalous
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in puritanism
a tendency to care a great deal about seemly behavior and morals especially in sexual matters
the prudishness of the people of the Victorian era was a hindrance to the dissemination of some basic information on human health and hygiene
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of prudish
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2024
So much so, in fact, that there is now a common misconception that Wimbledon spectators must subscribe to the same all-white dress code–established in the prudish 1800s to mask sweat stains–that applies only to those playing on court.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 12 July 2024
Jet did not feel the need to present a prudish image of Black people to counteract white stereotypes about their hypersexuality.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 June 2024
For a long time, serious literary novels have held off on the question of how to handle menopause with the prudish disgust of a teenager.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 21 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for prudish
Adjective
Emily, perhaps true to her prudish Adderall-y millennial type, is not especially flirty.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2024
So much so, in fact, that there is now a common misconception that Wimbledon spectators must subscribe to the same all-white dress code–established in the prudish 1800s to mask sweat stains–that applies only to those playing on court.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 12 July 2024
Jet did not feel the need to present a prudish image of Black people to counteract white stereotypes about their hypersexuality.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 June 2024
For a long time, serious literary novels have held off on the question of how to handle menopause with the prudish disgust of a teenager.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 21 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for prudish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prudish
Adjective
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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
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For Max in particular, his parent’s lifelong humorless severity looks more and more like malevolent delusion under a cloak of puritanical righteousness.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Puritanism is now expressing itself tragically in those who were subject to puritanism, the youth.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
27 Nov. 2024
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Inevitably, puritanism is going to come out and come back and go away.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
27 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Other styles from the Victorian Era that are still en vogue are half-hoops, which feature three to five stones spanning across a thin finger, and Toi et Mois, which feature two gemstones side by side.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
11 Aug. 2025
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George Eliot, Middlemarch A Victorian novel that feels startlingly modern.—
Mark Nevins,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The phone consensus is bipartisan, appealing to right-wing moralism and left-wing anti-corporate sentiment alike.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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The true villain is Herod, who, in his hypocritical mixture of slobbering lust and grandstanding moralism, is a model man of power.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prudish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prudish. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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