prude

Easily scandalized person

A prude is someone excessively concerned with propriety, especially regarding sex.

The word carries disapproval—it suggests the person's modesty is performative or excessive rather than genuine: Don't be such a prude.

Prudish describes this quality.

The related prudery names the attitude itself.

puritanical

strait-laced

Excessively proper and strict

stuffy · uptight · old-fashioned · proper · stiff · Puritan · bluenose · wowser · Comstock · killjoy

insult

stick-in-the-mud

Overly cautious traditionalist

wet blanket · spoilsport · party-pooper · stuffed shirt · old maid · bluenose · wowser · priss

judgmental

self-righteous

Smugly certain of correctness

censorious · preachy · condescending · disapproving · critical · hypocritical · finger-wagging · scornful · contemptuous · disdainful

reserved

demure

Modestly reserved in manner

  • modestLacking in pretension
  • shyReserved and retiring
  • bashfulUncomfortably self-conscious

coy · retiring · timid · reticent · unassuming · restrained · discreet · meek · diffident · proper

chastity

virginity

Absence of carnal experience

chastity · virtue · continence · self-denial · temperance · modesty · restraint · innocence · decency · wholesomeness

Categories
Opposites
sexual openness and permissiveness

prudelibertine

One lacking moral restraint

slut · lecher · debauchee · wanton · nymphomaniac

moral rigidity vs. moral license

prudelibertine

One lacking moral restraint

immoralist · sybarite · hedonist · pleasure-seeker · epicurean

comfort with the body and physicality

prudenudist

One who forgoes clothes

naturist · exhibitionist · stripper · free spirit · bohemian

Phrases
Family

prudent, prudence, imprudent, prudish, imprudence, prudery, prudes, prudishness, imprudently

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG