as in Victorian
given to or marked by very conservative standards regarding personal behavior or morals
some of the state laws concerning sexual behavior are vestiges of a more puritanical time and are rarely, if ever, enforced
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Recent Examples of puritanical
In this version, religious zealots—some imported, and some homegrown—are trying to impose a puritanical form of religious law on society.
—
Daniel Corstange, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2016
Before each performance, the scene is set by a narrator who speaks in a prim, puritanical accent reminiscent of a bygone era.
—Sonaiya Kelley, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The complaints were frequently of a puritanical and/or phony high-brow bent.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2024
Salafism is an ultra-orthodox, puritanical strain of Islam followed by a minority of Muslims.
—Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for puritanical 
Daniel Corstange, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2016
Before each performance, the scene is set by a narrator who speaks in a prim, puritanical accent reminiscent of a bygone era.
—Sonaiya Kelley, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The complaints were frequently of a puritanical and/or phony high-brow bent.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2024
Salafism is an ultra-orthodox, puritanical strain of Islam followed by a minority of Muslims.
—Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for puritanical
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Cite this Entry
“Puritanical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puritanical. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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