schoolmarm
Americannoun
noun
-
a woman schoolteacher, esp when considered to be prim, prudish, or old-fashioned
-
any woman considered to be prim, prudish, or old-fashioned
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of schoolmarm
1835–45, variant of schoolma'am
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.
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
DeBose, who is Afro-Latina, plays town schoolmarm Emma Tate, who most strongly resembles Marian from The Music Man and Anna from The King and I—roles that have historically been played by white actresses.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2021
One of her most memorable roles was in Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles,” as Harriet Johnson, a schoolmarm who is among the residents of a Western town offended when a Black sheriff is appointed.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2020
The clown waved his finger in the air like a schoolmarm.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
