prudish

  • 1Prudish — Prud ish, a. Like a prude; very formal, precise, or reserved; affectedly severe in virtue; as, a prudish woman; prudish manners. [1913 Webster] A formal lecture, spoke with prudish face. Garrick. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2prudish — 1717, from PRUDE (Cf. prude) + ISH (Cf. ish). Related: Prudishly; prudishness …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3prudish — *prim, priggish, prissy, puritanical, straitlaced, stuffy Analogous words: *rigid, strict: stern, *severe, austere: formal, conventional, solemn (see CEREMONIAL) …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 4prudish — [adj] shy and strict in behavior affected, artificial, austere, bigoted, conventional, demure, fastidious, finicky*, genteel, illiberal, mincing, narrow, narrow minded, offish, overexact, overmodest, overnice, precise, pretentious, priggish*,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 5prudish — [pro͞o′dish] adj. like or characteristic of a prude; too modest or proper prudishly adv. prudishness n …

    English World dictionary

  • 6prudish — adj. prudish about * * * [ pruːdɪʃ] prudish about …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 7prudish — [[t]pru͟ːdɪʃ[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) If you describe someone as prudish, you mean that they are too easily shocked by things relating to sex. I m not prudish but I think these photographs are obscene. Derived words: prudishness N UNCOUNT… …

    English dictionary

  • 8prudish — prudent, prudential, prudish While prudent is a judgemental word meaning ‘circumspect, judicious’, prudential is merely descriptive in identifying actions and attitudes that have to do with prudence, e.g. prudential motives are motives determined …

    Modern English usage

  • 9prudish — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adj. prim, demure, precious, affected, precise. See affectation. Ant., liberal, open. II (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. overnice, stilted, mincing, precise, narrow minded, illiberal, bigoted, prissy, priggish …

    English dictionary for students

  • 10prudish — prud|ish [ˈpru:dıʃ] adj very easily shocked by things relating to sex used to show disapproval ▪ American culture is in many ways still fairly prudish. >prudery n [U] >prudishly adv >prudishness n [U] …

    Dictionary of contemporary English