What does "puritan" mean?
A puritanical person.
Puritan
/ˈpjʊə.ɹɪ.tən/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A puritanical person.
- Grammar: puritan is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: prude, abstainer, albigensian, anarchist.
- Useful contrasts: Catholic, coquettes, dandy.
- Usage evidence: Jerome won't have sex with you, he's a total puritan.
How to use "puritan"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "puritan" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A puritanical person. derogatory, usually
"These new puritans have turned out to be surprisingly unskilled and inexperienced - very different from my generation who invented wife-swapping, orgies and free love in the late Sixties and early Seventies."
- 2 A member of a particular Protestant religious sect advocating greater purity and piety.
- 3 a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum wordnet
- 4 someone who adheres to strict religious principles; someone opposed to sensual pleasures wordnet
- 5 a member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries thought that the Protestant Reformation under Elizabeth was incomplete and advocated the simplification and regulation of forms of worship wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Acting or behaving according to the Puritan morals (e.g. propagating modesty), especially with regard to pleasure, nudity and sex; ascetic. derogatory, usually
"A pietistic protestantism, rigid, self-righteous, unintellectual, obsessed with puritan morality to the point where hypocrisy was its automatic companion, dominated this desolate epoch."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of puritan. alt-of
"It’s a seedy time of the night and Jacky is telling me about sailors and their needs. A man called P. C. Alexander, an ex-Indian High-Commissioner in London has cleaned up Madras. There’s a very Puritan atmosphere here now, and the seamen are not happy. ‘All ship’s crew very happy with Calcutta. Can bring many girls there. Bombay too – no problem.’ Bombay is apparently the only city in India to license prostitutes."
Example
"Jerome won't have sex with you, he's a total puritan."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "puritan"?
Common synonyms include: prude, abstainer, albigensian, anarchist, anchorite, ascetic.
How do you use "puritan" in a sentence?
Jerome won't have sex with you, he's a total puritan.
How do you pronounce "puritan"?
Pronounced /ˈpjʊə.ɹɪ.tən/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
See Puritan.
Etymology 2
Probably from purity + -an, because they sought to purify Church of England worship of what they perceived as Roman Catholic aspects. The capitalised form preceded the lowercase form puritan.