Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

primness

  • a word derived from prim.
    prim
    adjective
    formally precise or proper, as persons or behavior; stiffly neat.

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:

But the show's outlandish plots more than made up for its primness, whether that was ACP Pradyuman coming back from the dead or inspector Daya single-handedly manoeuvring a poison-gas filled plane to safety.

From BBC Dec. 7, 2024

Sure, it’s sort of pretending to be private and polite, and this gives it a slightly weird and contorted energy; you don’t often see trolling combined with H-E-double-hockey-sticks primness.

From Slate Nov. 4, 2021

Charles exploits Martin’s natural sweetness, his streak of primness and reserve; Oliver, as intense as Ed Grimley, mines Short’s madness.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 31, 2021

The deeper problem is just that they seem leering and gratuitous, even as Hopper’s rigid handling infuses them with a certain Yankee primness.

From Washington Post Nov. 27, 2019

We returned home to find the house smelling of furniture polish, and permeated with a certain cold primness which succeeds a tidying-up, and which can only be dispelled by a glowing fire.

From A Lame Dog's Diary by S. (Sarah) Macnaughtan