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puritanical

pu·ri·tan·i·cal
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [pyoo r-i-tan-i-kuh l]
    • /ˌpyʊər ɪˈtæn ɪ kəl/
    • /ˌpjʊə.rɪˈtæn.ɪ.kəl/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [pyoo r-i-tan-i-kuh l]
    • /ˌpyʊər ɪˈtæn ɪ kəl/

Definitions of puritanical word

  • adjective puritanical very strict in moral or religious matters, often excessively so; rigidly austere. 1
  • adjective puritanical (sometimes initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of Puritans or Puritanism. 1
  • adjective puritanical austere, abstemious 1
  • adjective puritanical If you describe someone as puritanical, you mean that they have very strict moral principles, and often try to make other people behave in a more moral way. 0
  • adjective puritanical strict in moral or religious outlook, esp in shunning sensual pleasures 0
  • adjective puritanical of or relating to a puritan or the Puritans 0

Information block about the term

Origin of puritanical

First appearance:

before 1600
One of the 39% oldest English words
First recorded in 1600-10; Puritan + -ical

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Puritanical

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

puritanical popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 73% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

puritanical usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for puritanical

adj puritanical

  • abstinent — forbearance from any indulgence of appetite, especially from the use of alcoholic beverages: total abstinence.
  • ascetic — An ascetic person has a way of life that is simple and strict, usually because of their religious beliefs.
  • austere — If you describe something as austere, you approve of its plain and simple appearance.
  • bluenose — a puritanical or prudish person
  • by the book — according to the rules; in the prescribed or usual way

adverb puritanical

  • ascetically — a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.

adjective puritanical

  • hardboiled — Alternative spelling of hard-boiled.
  • humourless — (British spelling, Canadian) alternative spelling of humorless.
  • isolationist — a person who favors or works for isolationism.
  • overexact — Too exact; overscrupulous; pedantic.
  • qualmish — tending to have, or having, qualms.

Antonyms for puritanical

adj puritanical

  • freethinking — a person who forms opinions on the basis of reason, independent of authority or tradition, especially a person whose religious opinions differ from established belief.
  • libertine — a person who is morally or sexually unrestrained, especially a dissolute man; a profligate; rake.

Top questions with puritanical

  • what is puritanical?
  • what does puritanical mean?

See also

Matching words

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