Puritan

[ pyoor-i-tn ]

noun

1. a member of a group of Protestants that arose in the 16th century within the Church of England, demanding the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline: during part of the 17th century the Puritans became a powerful political party.
2. (lowercase) a person who is strict in moral or religious matters, often excessively so.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Puritans.
2. (lowercase) of, relating to, or characteristic of a moral puritan; puritanical.

Puritan

¹

/ ˈpjʊərɪtən /

noun

1. any of the more extreme English Protestants, most of whom were Calvinists, who wished to purify the Church of England of most of its ceremony and other aspects that they deemed to be Catholic

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Puritans

puritan

²

/ ˈpjʊərɪtən /

noun

1. a person who adheres to strict moral or religious principles, esp one opposed to luxury and sensual enjoyment

adjective

1. characteristic of a puritan

Derived Forms

• ˈPuritanˌism, noun
• ˈpuritanˌism, noun

Other Words From

• pu·ri·tan·like adjective
• pu·ri·tan·ly adverb
• an·ti·pu·ri·tan noun adjective
• an·ti-Pu·ri·tan noun adjective
• pro·pu·ri·tan noun adjective
• pro-Pu·ri·tan noun adjective
• un·pu·ri·tan adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Puritan¹

1540–50; < Late Latin pūrit ( ās ) purity + -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of Puritan¹

C16: from Late Latin pūritās purity

Example Sentences

A Puritan minister incited fury by pushing inoculation against a smallpox epidemicCritics argued it was playing God, and it was banned in several colonies.

From Washington Post

Onesimus, an enslaved man in Boston, taught the procedure to Puritan minister Cotton Mather, who in turn urged doctors to inoculate the public during a 1721 smallpox outbreak.

From Science News

A Puritan minister incited fury by pushing inoculation against a smallpox epidemicAcross the Charles River in Boston, where the smallpox outbreak had begun, the board of health chairman wasn’t so mild.

From Washington Post

Indeed, puritan Japan is decades behind the puritan United States when it comes to sex.

From The Daily Beast

At least in premodern Europe and Puritan North America, witch-hunting follows certain patterns.

From The Daily Beast

Like the Puritan ancestors he never succeeded in escaping, he found fault with just about everything, especially himself.

From The Daily Beast

Eventually, Charles I will be overthrown, and the puritan dictator Oliver Cromwell will take power.

From The Daily Beast

The mindsets of both Cavalier and Puritan took root in the New World, and the experiment launched in 1776 continues.

From The Daily Beast

Pipes continued to appear upon the stage until its abolition (in company with the Prayer Book) by the Puritan rulers.

From Project Gutenberg

The Puritan Mission has civilised him and hundreds on hundreds more, and I wish the parsons had done just half as much.

From Project Gutenberg

The persecution under which Jonson suffered was due to the steady growth of Puritan principles.

From Project Gutenberg

The fires of the Puritan faction had smouldered out; those of the Jacobite frenzy had hardly had time to rekindle.

From Project Gutenberg

At this period the alchemist is represented by his descendant as a Puritan impregnated with the secret doctrine of Robert Fludd.

From Project Gutenberg