Synonyms for priggish
| Grammar : Adj |
| Spell : prig |
| Phonetic Transcription : prɪg |
Définition of priggish
Origin :- "precisian in speech or manners," 1753, originally in reference to theological scruples (1704), of unknown origin; earlier appearances of the same word meaning "dandy, fop" (1670s), "thief" (c.1600; in form prigger recorded from 1560s) could be related, as could thieves' cant prig "a tinker" (1560s).
- A p[rig] is wise beyond his years in all the things that do not matter. A p. cracks nuts with a steam hammer: that is, calls in the first principles of morality to decide whether he may, or must, do something of as little importance as drinking a glass of beer. On the whole, one may, perhaps, say that all his different characteristics come from the combination, in varying proportions, of three things--the desire to do his duty, the belief that he knows better than other people, & blindness to the difference in value between different things. ["anonymous essay," quoted in Fowler, 1926]
- Related: Priggery.
- adj straitlaced
- Perhaps it is priggish of me, but I feel that if I'm mean in one thing I may be mean in another.
- Extract from : « Changing Winds » by St. John G. Ervine
- He was deep in a business discussion with his priggish son-in-law.
- Extract from : « The Making of Bobby Burnit » by George Randolph Chester
- He was selfish and priggish and worse, he was piggish—A regular beast of a brute.
- Extract from : « The Book of Humorous Verse » by Various
- She watched Paul growing irritable, priggish, and melancholic.
- Extract from : « Sons and Lovers » by David Herbert Lawrence
- Why, how absurd and priggish and offensive such a course of action would be?
- Extract from : « The Dictator » by Justin McCarthy
- They would say she was mean and priggish, for she might have told Berta as easily as not.
- Extract from : « Beatrice Leigh at College » by Julia Augusta Schwartz
- She had boasted of her success; and to be successful was merely to be priggish.
- Extract from : « The Making of a Prig » by Evelyn Sharp
- What chance is there for any one with priggish tendencies in a world like ours?
- Extract from : « The Making of a Prig » by Evelyn Sharp
- He was not in the least priggish and gave himself no sacerdotal airs.
- Extract from : « Painted Veils » by James Huneker
- After all, only priggish people,—the kind of people who lived at Champion Hill.
- Extract from : « In the Year of Jubilee » by George Gissing
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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019