as in Victorian
given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals
the novel's wildly off base portrayal of 18th-century aristocrats as nice-nelly exemplars of decorum
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in puritan
a person who is greatly concerned with seemly behavior and morality especially regarding sexual matters
some nice nelly bowdlerized this collection of wartime ditties that were lustily sung by the men around the campfire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nice-nelly
Adjective
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DeBary Hall and Gateway Center for the Arts will present an evening of Victorian elegance and deadly secrets in which guests attempt to solve a murder most foul.—
Joe Rassel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 July 2025 -
Its interior decor offers an upscale, Victorian boudoir theme with dim, vintage chandelier lighting with beaded fringe trim and deep red tones on textured wallpaper.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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For Max in particular, his parent’s lifelong humorless severity looks more and more like malevolent delusion under a cloak of puritanical righteousness.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 July 2025
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At a moment when puritanical forces in this country are actively trying to deny Americans the freedom to be themselves, that’s radical enough.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
25 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Nice-nelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nice-nelly. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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