pearl-clutchers
The perpetually shocked
Pearl-clutchers are people who react with exaggerated shock or moral outrage, especially over matters others consider trivial or harmless.
The image is of someone theatrically grasping a pearl necklace in scandalized distress.
The term is dismissive, suggesting the reaction is performative or prudish: The pearl-clutchers complained about the movie's language.
Overly modest people
- puritanicalExcessively strict about morals
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
- straitlacedExcessively proper and conventional
- prissyAffectedly proper and fussy
stuffy · uptight · Victorian · proper · modest · squeamish · demure · fussy
Hostile dismissive feeling
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- condemnationSevere disapproval expressed formally
- disdainScornful disregard
- censureFormal institutional disapproval
reproach · contempt · derision · finger-wagging · tutting · tsk-tsk · scolding · chiding
Deeply offended morally
- aghastStruck with horror
- appalledShocked by wrongness
- horrifiedIntensely shocked, disgusted
- outragedExtremely angry, affronted
gasping · gasp · shocked · offended · dismayed · distressed · disconcerted · rattled
Exaggeratedly emotional in expression
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
- overreactionDisproportionate emotional response
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
hyperbole · sensationalism · alarmist · spectacle · hand-wringing · performative · overwrought · hysterical
Adherent to established customs
- conservativeCautious about altering customs
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- conformistOne following accepted norms
- conventionalFollowing accepted practices
nostalgic · orthodox · moralistic · reactionary · establishment · propriety · etiquette · decency
prudes
Overly modest people
- puritanicalExcessively strict about morals
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
- straitlacedExcessively proper and conventional
prissy · stuffy · uptight · Victorian · proper · modest · squeamish · demure · fussy · decorous
scorn
Hostile dismissive feeling
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- condemnationSevere disapproval expressed formally
- disdainScornful disregard
censure · reproach · contempt · derision · finger-wagging · tutting · tsk-tsk · scolding · chiding · harrumphing
scandalized
Deeply offended morally
outraged · gasping · gasp · shocked · offended · dismayed · distressed · disconcerted · rattled · unnerved
melodramatic
Exaggeratedly emotional in expression
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
- overreactionDisproportionate emotional response
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
exaggeration · hyperbole · sensationalism · alarmist · spectacle · hand-wringing · performative · overwrought · hysterical · breathless
traditionalist
Adherent to established customs
- conservativeCautious about altering customs
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- conformistOne following accepted norms
conventional · nostalgic · orthodox · moralistic · reactionary · establishment · propriety · etiquette · decency · respectability
pearl-clutcherslibertines
Morally dissolute individuals
free spirits · hedonists · provocateurs · iconoclasts · edgelords
pearl, pearls, pearled, pearly, clutch, clutches, clutched, clutching, clutcher