To ride; to dance; she had adored all that. Or going long walks in the country, talking, about books, what to do with one’s life, for young people were amazingly priggish—oh, the things one had said!
Source: wiktionary
Priggish
/ˈpɹɪɡɪʃ/
Synonyms for "priggish" (122 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (25)
Strong matches (36)
Related words (61)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: prim, prudish, puritanical, abusive, blackening.
- Sentence evidence is available for priggish, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "priggish".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "priggish"
Keep "priggish" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "priggish" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "priggish", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "priggish" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
3 entriescharacter traitpersonality traitstylistic trait
More specific
5 entriesCollocations
6 entriespriggish attitudepriggish behaviorpriggish mannerspriggish prosepriggish remarkspriggish tone
Inflections
2 entriesmore priggishmost priggish
Derivations
2 entriessimilar
1 entriesSample sentences
4 total sentences available.
When the Voice of Britain is heard at nine o'clock, better far and infinitely less ludicrous to hear aitches honestly dropped than the present priggish, inflated, inhibited, school-ma'amish arch braying of blameless bashful mewing maidens!
Source: wiktionary
Great ancient columns and rich marbles inspired him with respect, apart from their beauty; and this proprietary human esteem for the arts was a good corrective to the priggish aestheticism of my English-speaking artistic friends.
Source: wiktionary
With the advantage of hindsight, [Jess] Stein may seem priggish. But dictionary editors throughout history would sympathize. Figuring out how to put sex in the dictionary—which terms to include and how to define them—is actually one of the most challenging tasks we face.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "priggish"?
Closest matches include prim, prudish, puritanical, abusive, blackening.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "priggish"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.