variants
or schoolma'am
as in teacher
US, old-fashioned
a woman who teaches in a school in a small town or in the country
In the movie, she plays a doting schoolmarm in colonial New England.
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Recent Examples of schoolmarm
This, to Newsom, is being strong; the right are the fainthearted schoolmarms now.
—
Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board took note of the hard-right’s distress, let down its tightly wound schoolmarm bun and snickered right out loud.
—Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
The search for a missing schoolmarm is the focus of an escape room experience at the Lanesfield School, a historic one-room schoolhouse in Edgerton.
—Beth Lipoff, Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2025
University deans, schoolmarms and human resources managers penned dress codes outright forbidding the garment or relegating it to certain areas.
—The Conversation, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2023
Visitors can relive a school experience from the early 20th century, complete with a schoolmarm and an outhouse.
—Jshortavon, cleveland, 23 July 2023
Then there’s Jeffrey Wright’s gung-ho military man, Matt Dillon’s bubbleheaded grease monkey, Steve Carell’s apologetic motel owner, Maya Hawke’s friendly schoolmarm, and Rupert Friend’s cowboy loverboy.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2023
In the music video, Gavin plays the titular cheerleader who is smitten with a girl in the program; meanwhile, Bridgers plays the pink-haired schoolmarm in charge, while popular gay comedian Caleb Hearon plays a conflicted gay coach.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2022
On hand to enforce the rules is an electronic schoolmarm called Lana, who resembles a Google Home under the influence of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
—Judy Berman, Time, 16 Apr. 2020
Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board took note of the hard-right’s distress, let down its tightly wound schoolmarm bun and snickered right out loud.
—Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
The search for a missing schoolmarm is the focus of an escape room experience at the Lanesfield School, a historic one-room schoolhouse in Edgerton.
—Beth Lipoff, Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2025
University deans, schoolmarms and human resources managers penned dress codes outright forbidding the garment or relegating it to certain areas.
—The Conversation, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2023
Visitors can relive a school experience from the early 20th century, complete with a schoolmarm and an outhouse.
—Jshortavon, cleveland, 23 July 2023
Then there’s Jeffrey Wright’s gung-ho military man, Matt Dillon’s bubbleheaded grease monkey, Steve Carell’s apologetic motel owner, Maya Hawke’s friendly schoolmarm, and Rupert Friend’s cowboy loverboy.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2023
In the music video, Gavin plays the titular cheerleader who is smitten with a girl in the program; meanwhile, Bridgers plays the pink-haired schoolmarm in charge, while popular gay comedian Caleb Hearon plays a conflicted gay coach.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2022
On hand to enforce the rules is an electronic schoolmarm called Lana, who resembles a Google Home under the influence of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
—Judy Berman, Time, 16 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schoolmarm
Noun
-
The union is seeking an immediate 16% raise for new teachers, an across-the-board 3% raise in the contract’s second year and significant automatic pay hikes tied to years of experience and continued education.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Dance teacher John Downing will teach Line Dance basics at this fun event.—
Ut Community Press,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Imagine how irate his mistress must have been reading the first 12 lines of his 14-line poem!—
David McGrath,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
These are Dove chocolate–sized strawberry marshmallows, coated in milk chocolate, and the overall effect is as romantic as being caught on the Kiss Cam with your mistress.—
Alex Beggs,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Inspectors found shortcomings such as employing unqualified instructors, failing to test students’ skills or teach them how to handle hazardous materials and using the wrong equipment to teach drivers.—
Josh Funk,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Here, three experts—Emily English (@EmTheNutritionist), ALO Wellness Club pilates instructor Bianca Wise, and Rachel Butcher, head of nutrition at Third Space—break down the obsession with macros, and explain whether there is a healthy way to track them.—
Ranyechi Udemezue,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Schoolmarm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schoolmarm. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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