nice-nelly
Excessively proper person
Nice-nelly describes someone who is excessively proper, prudish, or squeamish about matters others consider ordinary—particularly language, bodily functions, or social conventions.
As a noun, a nice-nelly is such a person.
The term carries a dismissive tone, suggesting the person's delicacy is performative or tiresome rather than genuinely principled.
Don't be such a nice-nelly about a few swear words.
The verb nice-nelly means to bowdlerize or soften something to avoid offending delicate sensibilities.
Affectedly proper and stiff
- priggishSmugly self-righteous
- puritanicalExcessively strict about morals
- strait-lacedExcessively proper and strict
- VictorianOf a prim era
squeamish · proper · prissy · demure · modest · coy · goody-goody · namby-pamby
Humbly unassertive
- mousyShy and unassertive
- shrinkingDecreasing in dimension
- unassertiveNot forceful or bold
- mild-manneredGentle and unassertive
wishy-washy · spineless · milquetoast · doormat · pushover · passive · weak-kneed · feeble
Remove objectionable content
- sanitizeCleanse of pathogens
- expurgateRemove offensive material
- censorOne who suppresses content
- softenMake less firm
whitewash · sugarcoat · delicate · circumlocution · polite fiction · tiptoeing · skirting · hedging
Highly esteemed, greatly valued
- daintyDelicately small and pretty
- fussyExcessively particular
- finickyExcessively particular, hard to satisfy
- overrefinedExcessively cultivated or delicate
twee · simpering · mannered · artificial · put-on · pretentious · la-di-da · hoity-toity
prim
Affectedly proper and stiff
- priggishSmugly self-righteous
- puritanicalExcessively strict about morals
- strait-lacedExcessively proper and strict
Victorian · squeamish · proper · prissy · demure · modest · coy · goody-goody · namby-pamby · mealy-mouthed
meek
Humbly unassertive
- mousyShy and unassertive
- shrinkingDecreasing in dimension
- unassertiveNot forceful or bold
mild-mannered · wishy-washy · spineless · milquetoast · doormat · pushover · passive · weak-kneed · feeble · ineffectual
bowdlerize
Remove objectionable content
soften · whitewash · sugarcoat · delicate · circumlocution · polite fiction · tiptoeing · skirting · hedging · vague
precious
Highly esteemed, greatly valued
- daintyDelicately small and pretty
- fussyExcessively particular
- finickyExcessively particular, hard to satisfy
overrefined · twee · simpering · mannered · artificial · put-on · pretentious · la-di-da · hoity-toity · mincing