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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of schoolmarm
No ruler-wielding schoolmarm can impart the urgency of learning the way hunger can.
—
John Phillips, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026
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
John Phillips, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schoolmarm
Noun
-
By the late 1970s, Earle had built a happy life in New York, co-creating plays with composer Peter Link and studying under the famed acting teacher Uta Hagen.—
Christina Ray Stanton,
Time,
2 June 2026
-
With parental rights overruling teachers’ concerns, absenteeism is often ignored.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Why does the mistress get to do wrong and flaunt it?—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
-
That meant, of course, that Byron, the King Charles spaniel, notable lapdog and occasional Chopard mascot, would be in attendance alongside his mistress, the co-president.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
The main event, though, is the ski room—where ski butlers furnish guests with state-of-the-art skis before sliding them onto the slicked Jardin Alpin piste with or without an instructor.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
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Unions representing graduate workers, adjuncts and non-tenure-track instructors have organized in recent years at several campuses, including New York University, Columbia and Harvard.—
Jaweed Kaleem,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Schoolmarm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schoolmarm. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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