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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

• schoolmarmish
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of schoolmarm

1835–45, variant of schoolma'am

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

schoolmarm

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

From Washington Times ● Feb. 20, 2023

Ms. Theurer, a deeply religious wife and grandmother with schoolmarm charm, was an unlikely pandemic czar, but she leaped into the role head-on.

From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2022

If every old-timey town had a schoolmarm as enchanting and electric as DeBose’s Miss Emma, we might not be wallowing in the ignorance we find ourselves in today.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2022

So I would encourage you to let go of this inner schoolmarm who’s telling you that you don’t have the right to judge a translation.

From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2021

The clown waved his finger in the air like a schoolmarm.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs