nice-nellyism

as in puritanism
a tendency to care a great deal about seemly behavior and morals especially in sexual matters a misguided nice-nellyism prompted the city-owned art museum to cancel its scheduled exhibit on the nude in photography

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nice-nellyism
Noun
  • Puritanism is now expressing itself tragically in those who were subject to puritanism, the youth.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2024
  • Inevitably, puritanism is going to come out and come back and go away.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Liberal states and activists must tone down their legalism, moralism, and universalism.
    Jack Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2022
  • Avoiding the hard sell will require that liberal states and activists tone down their legalism, moralism, and universalism.
    Jack Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Nice-nellyism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nice-nellyism. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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