puritanical

[ pyoor-i-tan-i-kuhl ]

/ ˌpyʊər ɪˈtæn ɪ kəl /

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See synonyms for puritanical on Thesaurus.com

Definition of puritanical

adjective

very strict in moral or religious matters, often excessively so; rigidly austere.

Sometimes Puritanical . of, relating to, or characteristic of Puritans or Puritanism.

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Often pu·ri·tan·ic .

Origin of puritanical

First recorded in 1600–10; Puritan + -ical

OTHER WORDS FROM puritanical

pu·ri·tan·i·cal·ly, adverbpu·ri·tan·i·cal·ness, nounun·pu·ri·tan·ic, adjectiveun·pu·ri·tan·i·cal, adjective

un·pu·ri·tan·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby puritanical

puriri, purism, purist, Puritan, Puritan ethic, puritanical, Puritanism, Puritans, Puritan spoon, purity, Purkinje cell

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use puritanical in a sentence

After the complete failure and repeal of alcohol prohibition in 1933, America’s puritanical conservatives and government agencies set their sights on drugs.
Chelsea Handler: Marijuana Criminalization Has Always Hurt People of Color the Most. The Time for Reform Is Now|Chelsea Handler|April 19, 2021|Time
His distaste derives from a basic confusion in the position of the puritanical prescriptivist.
Go Ahead, End With a Preposition: Grammar Rules We All Can Live With|Nick Romeo|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pope Paul VI and the Church at that time could be forgiven for puritanical idealism.
The Vatican's Same-Sex Synod: The Bishops Hear About Reality. Do They Listen?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, people sped by the models less out of puritanical deference to the naked bodies, but to keep up their steely reputations.
Naked on a New York Street—for Art|Emily Shire|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Maybe not such a huge problem for the puritanical but sometime very practical mullahs.
As Iran’s Marijuana Trade Thrives, Is It Becoming a Nation of Stoners?|IranWire|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Saudi society and government are intricately intertwined with a puritanical flavor of Islam, Wahhabism.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?|Michael Schulson|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The puritanical party was by far the fewer in numbers, for which two excellent reasons might be given.
Peveril of the Peak|Sir Walter Scott
But at the time about which we are writing there was in Boston a distinguished family of puritanical ministers named Mather.
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology|St. John D. (St. John Drelincourt) Seymour
His preaching was plain, scriptural, and experimental, in the good old puritanical strain.
Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northamptonshire|Thomas Coleman
In contrast to his predecessor he connived at some irregularities of discipline in the Puritanical clergy.
The Cathedral Church of Canterbury [2nd ed.].|Hartley Withers
There was in society, though it was not strait-laced or puritanical, a general standard of "good form."
The English Novel|George Saintsbury

British Dictionary definitions for puritanical

puritanical

less commonly puritanic

/ (ˌpjʊərɪˈtænɪkəl) /

adjective

usually derogatory strict in moral or religious outlook, esp in shunning sensual pleasures

(sometimes capital) of or relating to a puritan or the Puritans

Derived forms of puritanical

puritanically, adverbpuritanicalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

puritanical

Definition of puritanical

Origin of puritanical

OTHER WORDS FROM puritanical

Words nearby puritanical

Words related to puritanical

How to use puritanical in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for puritanical

less commonly puritanic

Derived forms of puritanical