as in puritanical
given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals
by the prudish standards of the 19th century, any depiction of the nude was scandalous
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Recent Examples of prudish
Jet did not feel the need to present a prudish image of Black people to counteract white stereotypes about their hypersexuality.
—
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 June 2024
For a long time, serious literary novels have held off on the question of how to handle menopause with the prudish disgust of a teenager.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 21 June 2024
Informed by the Hayes Code, Hollywood ‘50s genre was often prudish in its sexuality.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 21 May 2024
There will be political points scored off of prudish hypocrisy and modern-day social rot.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for prudish
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 June 2024
For a long time, serious literary novels have held off on the question of how to handle menopause with the prudish disgust of a teenager.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 21 June 2024
Informed by the Hayes Code, Hollywood ‘50s genre was often prudish in its sexuality.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 21 May 2024
There will be political points scored off of prudish hypocrisy and modern-day social rot.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for prudish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prudish
Adjective
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While the #MeToo movement toppled scores of powerful men in Hollywood, in France it was viewed suspiciously by some as a puritanical American import that was tainting an essential part of France’s intellectual and cultural identity.—
Catherine Porter,
New York Times,
24 Mar. 2025
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Raising the stakes were the injunctions of the Hays Code, whose puritanical rules demanded that studio filmmakers in Hollywood shy away from depictions of interracial romance.—
Mayukh Sen,
The Atlantic,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The best scalloped bedding may be the trend du jour and a true companion of cottagecore bedding, but the charming design goes back to the Renaissance and Victorian periods.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
26 Apr. 2025
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Currently in its first full season since the pandemic, the company staged a play about book banning in 1950s Alabama at two Chicago booksellers last fall, followed by a holiday production of Victorian ghost stories at the Driehaus Museum’s 19th-century mansion.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prudish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prudish. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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