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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of straitlaced
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
Compton plays Raina, a young American woman who travels through Greece and aboard a barge with her straitlaced American boyfriend (Gary Collins) and a gay French artist (Gian Pietro Calasso).
—The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2023
Based on the book by Mary Rogers, and a remake of the 1976 film, Disney’s version directed by Mark Waters follows a straitlaced psychologist, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her punk teenage daughter Anna (Lohan), who switch bodies under an accidental spell.
—Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 5 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for straitlaced
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
Compton plays Raina, a young American woman who travels through Greece and aboard a barge with her straitlaced American boyfriend (Gary Collins) and a gay French artist (Gian Pietro Calasso).
—The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2023
Based on the book by Mary Rogers, and a remake of the 1976 film, Disney’s version directed by Mark Waters follows a straitlaced psychologist, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her punk teenage daughter Anna (Lohan), who switch bodies under an accidental spell.
—Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 5 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for straitlaced
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitlaced
Adjective
-
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
-
With their charismatic leadership, organizational skills, puritanical ideology, and internal solidarity, HTS and other militant groups were the unintended beneficiaries.—
Fawaz A. Gerges,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Or the shotgun houses with their Victorian embellishments.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
20 Mar. 2025
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From the outside, Atlantic will look like a Victorian aquarium with floor-to-ceiling glass walls as the restaurant appears to float on the shimmering waters of Neptune’s Pool.—
Brady MacDonald,
Orange County Register,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Take the core pieces of prim school attire—a crisp button-down, pleated skirt, and overcoat—and give them fashion flare by reimagining the color palette with a pop of pink.—
Talia Abbas,
Vogue,
27 Mar. 2025
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And the four women — sensible Billie, prim Helen, brash Mary Alice and madcap Natalie — may be next on the hitlist.—
Chris Hewitt,
Boston Herald,
23 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Straitlaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitlaced. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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