Synonyms

straight-laced

American

[streyt-leyst] / ˈstreɪtˈleɪst /

adjective

strait-laced.

straight-laced British

adjective

a variant spelling of strait-laced

"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

Other Word Forms

straight-lacedly adverb
straight-lacedness noun

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.

Mr. Johnson’s previous film was the slightly more straight-laced “BlackBerry,” about the rise and fall of the once-ubiquitous device.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

“It’s a bonus when I’m able to stretch myself and feel like I’m being challenged,” Poulter says of his character, the most straight-laced figure in the film, but imbued by Poulter with a surprising vulnerability.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2025

But they’ve also tried to be funny, whereas LinkedIn is a bit more straight-laced: There is no such thing as Weird LinkedIn.

From Slate • Nov. 10, 2023

Sir Keir Starmer is the target of this £3.29 birthday card, poking fun at the Labour leader's straight-laced image.

From BBC • Jul. 27, 2023

I had already been present at many little scenes of this kind in England, not in high society where one finds much ease and liveliness, but in a few middle-class houses among straight-laced people.

From Friend Mac Donald by O'Rell, Max

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023