Starched
adj, verb ·1 syllable ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 simple past and past participle of starch form-of, participle, past
- 1 Of a garment: having had starch applied.
"I recall the height of comfort attained by the green-cushioned "first" with starched white antimacassars and a pretentious grey floor mat on which it seemed a sacrilege to stand, as it was embellished with the North Western conception of Britannia, complete with trident."
- 2 Stiff, formal, rigid; prim and proper.
"Does the Gospel any where prescribe a starched squeezed Countenance, a stiff formal Gait, a Singularity of Manners and Habit, or any affected Modes of Speech, different from the reasonable Part of Mankind?"
Example
More examples"Dora's sitting up on the seat as prim as you please. She always looks as if she'd just been starched and ironed."
Related phrases
More for "starched"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.