goody-goody
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word 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.
“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
I was more of a goody-goody, more than people would expect.
From Salon • Jun. 30, 2017
A: She told her editor on that book, “I’m tired of writing about goody-goody creatures.”
From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2016
"Nah. See, I try to be nice to the new girl"—she looked around at Brit and Deja, all fired up—"but she always correcting me. And being all goody-goody, like she think she better than us."
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
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.
