goody-goody
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goody-goody
First recorded in 1870–75; reduplication of goody 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She elevates the role which, frankly, is a little thin: the sweet, high-ponytailed, goody-goody who doesn't even have her ears pierced.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2022
“I’ve been fighting that goody-goody stuff for years, because if you let people make you out to be perfect there just ain’t no margin for error,” he told his children.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2021
“Sturdy” was the word he returned to, even though the Tallahassee boy looked soft, conducted himself like a goody-goody, and had an irritating tendency to preach.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019
A: She told her editor on that book, “I’m tired of writing about goody-goody creatures.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2016
I glance over to see the doors at the end of the hallway swing wide open again as Barb and the goody-goody herself step out.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
Still, it’s a safe bet that Reijn believes these goody-goodies will grow up to make their own mistakes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2024
“But then there came this resurgence of monogamous commitments, and the concept of yearning to go back to the wholesome, good old days of goody-goodies like Donna Reed.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
Other hall-of-fame comedies, like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Cheers,” had wits and jesters and clowns mixed in among the goody-goodies and grumps.
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2019
Meanwhile many artists, however strong their faith, chafe under both that artistically restrictive pressure from within and the stigma against goody-goodies in the commercial world.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2019
“I know you goody-goodies think I’m always the bad guy,” he said.
From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
