as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas
the committee is dominated by old stick-in-the-muds who have little interest in bringing new ideas to the table
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Recent Examples of stick-in-the-mud
Bostwick starred as the naive stick-in-the-mud and fiancé of Janice, Brad.
—
Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
In the Herbert Ross film, Bacon played big-city teen Ren McCormack, who moves to the small town of Bomont, where its stick-in-the-mud local minster, the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), has instituted a ban on dancing.
—EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
David Corenswet plays, quite literally, a stick-in-the-mud character.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
In the Herbert Ross film, Bacon played big-city teen Ren McCormack, who moves to the small town of Bomont, where its stick-in-the-mud local minster, the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), has instituted a ban on dancing.
—EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
David Corenswet plays, quite literally, a stick-in-the-mud character.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stick-in-the-mud
Noun
-
The president has lashed out at the justices who ruled against him in recent days, including three conservatives who were in the majority — Roberts, Gorsuch and Barrett.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Of the current six conservatives on the bench, Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett have developed something of a swing vote status.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Activities Personalised treks to experience the character and charm of nearby villages, mountains, monasteries and lakes are led by highly knowledgeable guides such as Gyaljen Sherpa, 36, a veteran of Himalayan trekking.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Registration for adults is $40; veterans and first responders pay $25.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Now the 10% is for stubborn old fogies who refuse to change their ways and try something new.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Old fogey-ish, ungrateful and stupid.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Configured to operate on fully renewable gasoline supplied by Repsol, the powertrain is optimized for fuel produced from renewable feedstocks rather than fossil sources.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The finding, though entirely correct, was also always a work-around, a way of avoiding having to directly confront the overwhelming power of the fossil-fuel industry in our political and economic life.—
Bill McKibben,
New Yorker,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stick-in-the-mud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stick-in-the-mud. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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