Synonyms of puritanical

puritanical

adjective

ˌpyu̇r-ə-ˈta-ni-kəl 

as in Victorian

given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals

some of the state laws concerning sexual behavior are vestiges of a more puritanical time and are rarely, if ever, enforced

Synonyms & Similar Words

• Victorian
• prudish
• straitlaced
• moral
• prim
• proper
• priggish
• bluenosed
• nice-nelly
• honest
• refined
• staid
• decent
• stuffy
• upright
• virtuous
• genteel
• righteous
• right

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• permissive
• liberated
• immoral
• improper
• wicked
• bad
• prurient
• indecent
• lax
• loose
• lecherous
• sleazy
• depraved
• perverted
• degenerate
• debauched
• lickerish
• degraded
• skanky
• sluttish
• slutty
• trampy
• slatternly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of puritanical

Perhaps because of its puritanical roots, any place that serves alcohol in Boston also has to have a full menu—so there aren’t straight-up bars here or anywhere else. — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 June 2026

There’s more than a tinge of folk horror to this lingering mystery, which brings to mind the 1973 genre landmark The Wicker Man, in which a puritanical police officer travels to a remote island community that’s reverted to old pagan ways. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 15 June 2026

There was something puritanical and stunted in all of this critical handwringing. — Mark Rozzo, Vanity Fair, 12 June 2026

When the original writer walked off, Spiegel connected Lean with playwright Robert Bolt, an important collaborator who, like the director, was the product of a puritanical childhood, during which he was considered the dunce of the family. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026