Jump To:

• Puritan
  Puritan

  noun

  a member of a group of Protestants that arose in the 16th century within the Church of England, demanding the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline: during part of the 17th century the Puritans became a powerful political party.
• puritan
  puritan

  noun

  a person who adheres to strict moral or religious principles, esp one opposed to luxury and sensual enjoyment

Puritan

American  

[pyoor-i-tn] / ˈpjʊər ɪ tn /

noun

1. a member of a group of Protestants that arose in the 16th century within the Church of England, demanding the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline: during part of the 17th century the Puritans became a powerful political party.

2. (lowercase) a person who is strict in moral or religious matters, often excessively so.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the Puritans.

2. (lowercase) of, relating to, or characteristic of a moral puritan; puritanical.

Puritan ¹ British  

/ ˈpjʊərɪtən /

noun

1. any of the more extreme English Protestants, most of whom were Calvinists, who wished to purify the Church of England of most of its ceremony and other aspects that they deemed to be Catholic

---

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Puritans

puritan ² British  

/ ˈpjʊərɪtən /

noun

1. a person who adheres to strict moral or religious principles, esp one opposed to luxury and sensual enjoyment

---

adjective

1. characteristic of a puritan

Other Word Forms

• Puritanism
  noun
• anti-Puritan
  noun
• antipuritan
  noun
• pro-Puritan
  noun
• propuritan
  noun
• puritanism
  noun
• puritanlike
  adjective
• unpuritan
  adjective
• puritanly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of Puritan

1540–50; < Late Latin pūrit ( ās ) purity + -an

Explanation

If your brother calls you a puritan, then he’s saying you’re very moral — possibly too moral. He’s implying that you’re intolerant and look down on others who don’t have your standards. The Puritans were a group of English Protestants that formed in the 16th century to bring about religious reform. The Puritans wanted to “purify” the church by following intensely strict religious principles, which earned them the name Puritan. Puritan can still refer to the religious group — in that case it’ll have a capital “P” — but nowadays you’re more likely to hear it used to describe someone who follows a strict moral code and shuns almost all pleasures.