uptight
[uhp-tahyt]
- tense, nervous, or jittery.
- annoyed or angry.
- stiffly conventional in manner or attitudes.
Origin of uptight
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for uptight
Contemporary Examples
“It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys,” she said.
Read another way, she is a horrible mother, an uptight snob, and a bit of a shrew.
Colm Toibin Describes The Creation Of His Quiet Masterpiece ‘Nora Webster’Jennie Yabroff
November 3, 2014
One of the characters I played was an uptight whackjob, so that was probably written for me.
The producers were looking to start a fight between the laid-back Sebastian and Camille, his uptight counterpart.
For Cummings, who was born within an uptight intellectual haven, it was no wonder that he would grow out of that shell.
uptight
- displaying tense repressed nervousness, irritability, or anger
- unable to give expression to one's feelings, personality, etc
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for uptight
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper