prudishly
With excessive propriety
In a manner showing excessive concern about propriety or modesty, especially regarding sexual matters.
Someone who reacts prudishly treats normal topics as shocking or improper: She prudishly covered her eyes during the love scene.
The word carries a note of mockery—prudishness is seen as uptight rather than virtuous.
Smugly self-righteous
- sanctimoniousFeigning moral superiority
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
- self-righteousSmugly certain of correctness
- puritanicalExcessively strict about morals
pious · Victorian · pietistic · judgmental · disapproving · censorious · reproachful · strait-laced
In a reserved manner
- chastelyIn a pure manner
- decorouslyWith proper behavior
- properlyIn the correct manner
- primlyWith affected formality
coyly · bashfully · discreetly · modestly · virtuously · purely · innocently · reservedly
Held back from expression
- uptightAnxiously rigid in manner
- stiffNot easily bent
- constrainedForced into narrow limits
- inhibitedHeld back by self-consciousness
rigid · unyielding · restrained · guarded · tightly · uncomfortably · awkwardly · tensely
In outdated style
- conventionallyIn accepted manner
- traditionallyIn time-honored fashion
- staidlyWith serious restraint
- stuffilyIn a stuffy manner
fussily · formally · properly · correctly · precisely · fastidiously · particularly · scrupulously
priggish
Smugly self-righteous
- sanctimoniousFeigning moral superiority
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
- self-righteousSmugly certain of correctness
puritanical · pious · Victorian · pietistic · judgmental · disapproving · censorious · reproachful · strait-laced · narrow-minded
demurely
In a reserved manner
- chastelyIn a pure manner
- decorouslyWith proper behavior
- properlyIn the correct manner
primly · coyly · bashfully · discreetly · modestly · virtuously · purely · innocently · reservedly · meekly
repressed
Held back from expression
- uptightAnxiously rigid in manner
- stiffNot easily bent
- constrainedForced into narrow limits
inhibited · rigid · unyielding · restrained · guarded · tightly · uncomfortably · awkwardly · tensely · self-consciously
old-fashionedly
In outdated style
- conventionallyIn accepted manner
- traditionallyIn time-honored fashion
- staidlyWith serious restraint
stuffily · fussily · formally · properly · correctly · precisely · fastidiously · particularly · scrupulously · punctiliously
prudishlypermissively
In an allowing manner
liberally · indulgently · tolerantly · loosely · open-mindedly
prudishlywantonly
Without justification or care
brazenly · lewdly · shamelessly · uninhibitedly · salaciously