puritanize
Impose strict morals
To puritanize is to make something more morally strict or austere, stripping away elements considered sinful or indulgent.
The word echoes the Protestant Puritans, who sought to purify religious practice of excess: Reformers puritanized the curriculum, removing books they deemed inappropriate.
It often carries a critical tone, suggesting excessive or unwelcome moral zeal.
One who suppresses content
- prohibitFormally disallow
- banOfficial restriction on something
- suppressForcibly put an end to
- bowdlerizeRemove objectionable content
expurgate · sanitize · cleanse · forbid · outlaw · proscribe · regulate · control
Deliver religious discourse
- sermonizeSpeak with moral authority
- sanctimonyFeigned moral superiority
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
- judgmentalInclined to criticize others
righteousness · propriety · decency · prudish · priggish · censorious · moralizing · lecturing
Make less complex
- stripNarrow elongated piece
- spareHeld in reserve
- plainBasic and unremarkable
- unadornedLacking decoration or ornament
severe · ascetic · frugal · temperate · abstinent · self-denial · restraint · sobriety
Remove dirt or sin
- purgeEliminate unwanted elements
- rectifyTo make something right
- correctFree from error
- amendModify or correct
redeem · regenerate · convert · transform · renew · rehabilitate · restoration · revival
censor
One who suppresses content
bowdlerize · expurgate · sanitize · cleanse · forbid · outlaw · proscribe · regulate · control · constrain
preach
Deliver religious discourse
- sermonizeSpeak with moral authority
- sanctimonyFeigned moral superiority
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
judgmental · righteousness · propriety · decency · prudish · priggish · censorious · moralizing · lecturing · admonish
simplify
Make less complex
unadorned · severe · ascetic · frugal · temperate · abstinent · self-denial · restraint · sobriety · modesty
cleanse
Remove dirt or sin
amend · redeem · regenerate · convert · transform · renew · rehabilitate · restoration · revival · evangelism
puritanizeliberalize
Reduce restrictions on
deregulate · loosen · relax · decriminalize · emancipate
- puritanical viewsSeverely strict moral attitudes