variants
or straightlaced
as in puritanical
given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals
a very straitlaced old lady who believed that cleavage was something that should be shown by rock crystals, not respectable women
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of straitlaced
Ruby is a mess — chaos, really — whereas AJ is a bit more straitlaced, and there’s a stiff physicality to her.
—
Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Garrison plays Trisha, Sam’s straitlaced sister who’s undergone major growth as well.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Dec. 2024
Even television, though, began to feel straitlaced.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024
Doherty, then 19, became a superstar in the early ’90s playing the straitlaced but short-tempered Brenda Walsh as the show became a guilty pleasure for a generation.
—Ethan Sacks, NBC News, 14 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for straitlaced
Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Garrison plays Trisha, Sam’s straitlaced sister who’s undergone major growth as well.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Dec. 2024
Even television, though, began to feel straitlaced.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024
Doherty, then 19, became a superstar in the early ’90s playing the straitlaced but short-tempered Brenda Walsh as the show became a guilty pleasure for a generation.
—Ethan Sacks, NBC News, 14 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for straitlaced
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitlaced
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
-
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
Adjective
-
And then there’s Carrie, who is a heightened version of her lesser traits from SATC: prudish, private and lacking in humility.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
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But Townsend Warner’s takedown of prudish Victorian morality is only getting started.—
B. Pietras
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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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
-
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
Adjective
-
His work was polished, prim, and proper at a time where society prioritized all things polished, prim, and proper.—
Elise Taylor,
Vogue,
30 June 2025
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And, most explosively, prim and proper Aurora Fain, who bedecked herself in geegaws for a night at the opera, is left reeling after her husband announces he’s fallen in love with another woman.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Straitlaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitlaced. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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