as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas
the stuffed shirts in this organization don't seem to realize that without new blood our extinction is inevitable
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Recent Examples of stuffed shirt
With his piano-pounding performances, wild vocals, bouffant hair and makeup, Little Richard burst onto the musical scene in the 1950s and shook up the stuffed shirts with a string of his hit songs that got both black and white people dancing.
—
NBC News, 9 May 2020
Karen Knorr’s photos of the private members’ clubs of London in the early 1980s are full of stuffed shirts wearing gleaming brogues.
—The Economist, 25 Feb. 2020
For this case, he has been contracted by a bunch of white-haired stuffed shirts with medals on their chests to find anyone who enabled the Kansas City suicide bombers, who crossed into the United States via the Mexican border.
—Katie Walsh, Detroit Free Press, 28 June 2018
NBC News, 9 May 2020
Karen Knorr’s photos of the private members’ clubs of London in the early 1980s are full of stuffed shirts wearing gleaming brogues.
—The Economist, 25 Feb. 2020
For this case, he has been contracted by a bunch of white-haired stuffed shirts with medals on their chests to find anyone who enabled the Kansas City suicide bombers, who crossed into the United States via the Mexican border.
—Katie Walsh, Detroit Free Press, 28 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stuffed shirt
Noun
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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
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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
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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
Noun
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In Zac’s report, Schoonmaker addressed Powell’s legendary filmmaking partnership with Emeric Pressburger, which spawned films such as The Red Shoes, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and Black Narcissus.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
22 Aug. 2025
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Powell is perhaps best known for his creative partnership with Emeric Pressburger, which produced some of the most brilliant British films of the 20th century, including The Life of Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948).—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
30 July 2025
Noun
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This man performed in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Assumed all parts from mossbacks to boys young.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Sep. 2019
Noun
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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
Cite this Entry
“Stuffed shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stuffed%20shirt. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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