prude
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of prude
First recorded in 1695–1705; from French prude “a prude” (noun), “prudish” (adjective), short for prudefemme, Old French prodefeme “worthy or respectable woman,” equivalent to proud + feme
Explanation
Use prude to describe someone who is too concerned with being proper or modest. It is a derogatory label affixed most often to people who are not forthcoming romantically — and it's not very nice. To be prude is to be prudent, or careful. That’s not a bad thing, but prude is usually an insult. A prude might gasp when someone says a bad word. Prude was borrowed from French, short for prude femme "wise and good woman." Though the word took on a negative meaning, Old French prud also meant "capable or brave" and is probably the source of English proud.
Vocabulary lists containing prude
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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:
Nobody wants to be unsophisticated, or a prude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
I like to make jokes, I like to have all this bravado, but I’m really kind of a prude and shy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2024
Rivera’s not a prude; he will utter an expletive into the microphone if the occasion calls for it.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2022
I’ll make the season frightful myself with picks from around the world that include a prude mutant, a vengeful witch, a tortured musician and a demonic dinner.
From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2021
He is not a prude, or judgmental, but he knows what he wants and lets nothing deter him.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Over the centuries, the Wife of Bath has been swinging her hips through Western culture, knocking princesses off their pedestals, shocking prudes and clearing a path for savvy, witty women.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2023
And the cheekiness of the choice implicitly painted those protesting Wallen as cultural prudes, as if he hadn’t been the agent of his own undoing.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2022
From the start of arguments, it’s clear that the current bench is divided into prudes and cool kids.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2019
If 2018 prudes want to interpret the lyrics as something else; the problem obviously lies in their own minds not in the original lyrics.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 12, 2018
“And those people calling you a prude were prudes once, too,” she adds.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
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.
