schoolmarm

American  

[skool-mahrm] / ˈskulˌmɑrm /

noun

Older Use.

1. a female schoolteacher, especially of the old-time country school type, popularly held to be strict and priggish.

---

schoolmarm British  

/ ˈskuːlˌmɑːm /

noun

1. a woman schoolteacher, esp when considered to be prim, prudish, or old-fashioned

2. any woman considered to be prim, prudish, or old-fashioned

---

Other Word Forms

• schoolmarmish
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of schoolmarm

1835–45, variant of schoolma'am

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

schoolmarm

When observing public figures, there’s danger in scrutinizing off-the-cuff remarks, policing conversation like a schoolmarm.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2023

But she is still a substitute teacher, squirming to be the best schoolmarm she can be.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 20, 2023

Ms. Barrymore, as an executive producer, weighs in on everything, down to her chic schoolmarm costumes.

From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2021

There’s nothing a woman can wear, nowhere she can place her hands when she speaks, that will prevent people from comparing her to a schoolmarm.

From Slate ● Nov. 21, 2019

She was more than a schoolmarm with a ruler, trying to nudge me to the straight and narrow, which could never work.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---