Synonym Usage
See modest.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prudish
Explanation
To be prudish is to be extremely proper, almost a little too proper. To be called prudish isn't a compliment. To be proper is to be polite and have good manners. To be prudish is to take being proper to an exaggerated or ridiculous degree. For example, it's definitely a bad idea to use a naughty word in class, but a friend who scolds you when you use it privately could be considered prudish. They're going a little too far. Prudish behavior is also called priggish, prim, prissy, puritanical, and straight-laced. Others usually think prudish people should lighten up.
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.
"The album is not for any pearl clutchers," she told CBS News, with reference to prim, prudish or easily offended people.
From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025
The online response to the art was painfully scolding and prudish.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2025
After her appointment by Rishi Sunak's government, Baroness Bertin made it clear she would not be approaching the topic from a prudish or disapproving position.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2025
The men in her movies may have made fun of her ostensible chastity, but her characters were not prudish so much as selective.
From New York Times • May 27, 2022
I’m not prudish, Kitty, and yet every time they give a blow-by-blow account of their trips to the bathroom, which they often do, my whole body rises in revolt.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
