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
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
These misfit progeny get a shot at redemption, far from their nefarious parents, and attend a straitlaced boarding school teeming with the children of Disney sweethearts.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 1 July 2024
This timeless comedic tandem — where Lucy's zany antics collided with Ricky's straitlaced demeanor — kept generations in stitches for a remarkable 180 episodes.
—James Mercadante and Johnny Loftus, EW.com, 22 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for 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
These misfit progeny get a shot at redemption, far from their nefarious parents, and attend a straitlaced boarding school teeming with the children of Disney sweethearts.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 1 July 2024
This timeless comedic tandem — where Lucy's zany antics collided with Ricky's straitlaced demeanor — kept generations in stitches for a remarkable 180 episodes.
—James Mercadante and Johnny Loftus, EW.com, 22 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for straitlaced
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitlaced
Adjective
-
Over the past few years, generational warfare has only ramped up—so much so that it’s become boring to even reference: Gen Z hating on millennials for being cringe, millennials hating on Gen Z for being puritanical, and everyone hating on boomers for being, well, boomers.—
Daisy Jones,
Vogue,
3 May 2025
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His subject, Nandy told me, exhibited all the traits of an authoritarian personality: puritanical rigidity, a constricted emotional life, fear of his own passions, and an enormous ego that protected a gnawing insecurity.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The only real originality in the accounts of Jesus’ virgin birth is their distinctly Jewish and prudish tone, with the impregnation dignified and at arm’s length rather than represented, as in the Hellenistic myths, as a shower of gold or the lovemaking of an amorous swan.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2025
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The Comstock Act is a relic, not just of a more prudish era in American history, but of an age when the sort of individual rights that modern Americans take for granted effectively did not exist.—
Ian Millhiser,
Vox,
27 May 2024
Adjective
-
In the story, a Victorian husband attempts to drive his heiress wife insane by subtly rearranging reality, most notably by dimming their house’s gas lighting.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
8 May 2025
-
The London sewers were originally constructed during the Victorian era, when the capital city held just around four million people.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
7 May 2025
Adjective
-
Jean Marsh, the sleek British actress who co-created Upstairs, Downstairs and won an Emmy for her performance as the prim and proper parlormaid Rose Buck on the acclaimed ITV drama, has died.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2025
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As far as the street style crowd goes, the styling of these chunky bracelets has been equally as varied—we’ve seen resin bangle bracelets worn with lush suede pieces, minimalist outfits, quiet luxury looks, and prim suits.—
Rosana Lai,
Glamour,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Straitlaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitlaced. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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