Puritanism
Americannoun
-
the principles and practices of the Puritans.
-
(sometimes lowercase) extreme strictness in moral or religious matters, often to excess; rigid austerity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Puritanism
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.
Puritanism, by contrast, was born in rebellion against the Church of England and the “divine right” claimed by the king.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
By then, Deacon Chapin was dead, although Puritanism wasn’t yet.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2025
He might have vanished into Boston history were it not for the British, who spectacularly and catastrophically failed to understand what made Massachusetts citizens, forged by an independent version of Puritanism, tick.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2022
The Pilgrims who initially arrived in Plymouth practiced an extreme form of Puritanism that broke with the Church of England.
From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2022
It was easier to associate resistance to Puritanism with the Catholic cause than aggression on the Catholic Powers in Germany.
From Letters of Lord Acton To Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron
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.
