prig
1a person who displays or demands of others pointlessly precise conformity, fussiness about trivialities, or exaggerated propriety, especially in a self-righteous or irritating manner.
Origin of prig
1Other words for prig
Other words from prig
- prig·gish, adjective
Words Nearby prig
Other definitions for prig (2 of 2)
Chiefly British. to steal.
Scot. and North England. to haggle or argue over price.
British Informal. to beg or entreat; ask a favor.
Chiefly British. a thief.
Origin of prig
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use prig in a sentence
Before forty there is yet a chance that the budding ninny may desert, and degenerate into a prig, a Philistine, or a physician.
Stephen was not a prig and she recognized the justice of his arguments, but he was rather hard and his views were too clear-cut.
The Girl From Keller's | Harold BindlossHe's a bit of a prig—in fact, he's as priggish as he well can be—but he's never done anything but run straight.
Hyacinth | George A. BirminghamThis man is difficult to judge; he was a man of poor physique, naturally timid, and a prig.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind | Herbert George WellsThe letter describes a small boy who was "a very earnest vegetarian" and a super-prig into the bargain.
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England Vol. IV of IV. | Charles L. Graves
British Dictionary definitions for prig (1 of 2)
/ (prɪɡ) /
a person who is smugly self-righteous and narrow-minded
Origin of prig
1Derived forms of prig
- priggery or priggishness, noun
- priggish, adjective
- priggishly, adverb
- priggism, noun
British Dictionary definitions for prig (2 of 2)
/ (prɪɡ) British slang, archaic /
another word for thief
Origin of prig
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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