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Glite Dictionary
puritan

puritan

6 7.2
A person who thinks people should follow very strict moral or religious rules and dislikes fun
  • noun
  • /ˈpjʊrɪtən/
translation icon : puritano
  • So the UK is similar to the US and they have this sort of puritan culture where pleasure is bad.

God knows I'm not being a puritan about this, but that's probably not enough.

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Examples

  • You know, I can understand the puritans, I can understand the politics, but I guess I don't understand the passion of it.

    Cradle Will Rock (1999)

  • Moreover, the country was supposedly ruled by puritans in the spirit of "bourgeois Confucianism."

    Academic text (1992)

  • So if you want to call me anything, call me a puritan.

    Blog text (13)

  • We still have Puritans among us today, of course.

    Blog text (26)

  • You've always been such a puritan.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • I don't want you to think me a puritan, Madame Blanche.

    Family Plot (1976)

  • Vivian, I'm no puritan, and I'm no killjoy.

    Three on a Match (1932)

  • We're not puritans, and we should stop thinking that it's shameful to engage in sex in adult atmospheres.

    Blog text (11)

  • Funny that feminists are the biggest pulpit-pounding puritans when it comes to men's reproductive rights.

    Blog text (23)

  • In the strict community, many people were labeled as puritans for their disapproval of any form of entertainment.

Synonyms

prude
vspuritan
  • Offensive
35 6.6

A person who feels embarrassed by sexual talk and likes to act in a modest way

is stricter in general moral and religious disapproval than sexual modesty
disciplinarian
vspuritan
11 6.6

A person who makes others follow strict rules

is more focused on moral or religious disapproval than mere rule enforcement
moralist
vspuritan
3 7.0

A person who insists others follow strict rules about right and wrong

is stricter about personal pleasures and religious conduct than enforcing rules

Antonyms

liberal
983 4.4

Having political views that support social change and people's freedoms

hedonist
4 8.1

A person who thinks physical pleasure is the most important part of life

Compounds

puritan ethic
1 8.8

A strict set of moral rules that values hard work and avoids pleasure

puritan lifestyle
7.4

A way of living with strict rules and little pleasure

puritan view
8.9

A strict moral and religious attitude valuing self-control and rejecting pleasure

How Puritanical

fanatic
8 4.3
ascetic
3 8.7
puritan
6 7.2
conservative
∞ 4.6
libertine
  • NSFW
2 9.6

Surface Forms

puritan singular
puritans plural

Morphology

puritan = pure (semi-transparent) = pure + an

The formation from 'pure' + '-an' suggests a person characterized by purity, but the specific religious/moral strictness implied by 'puritan' is a culturally specific extension not fully predictable from 'pure' alone.

Etymology

Puritan comes from the same root as pure and purity, meaning 'clean' or 'free from sin'. Originally it named a group who wanted to make the church more 'pure', so today a puritan is someone very strict about moral or religious behavior and often disapproves of pleasure.