schoolmarmish
Overly strict, prudish
Schoolmarmish describes behavior reminiscent of a strict, old-fashioned female teacher—prim, fussy, and quick to correct others.
The word carries overtones of excessive propriety and pedantic rule-enforcement: Her schoolmarmish insistence on proper grammar annoyed everyone at the party.
Often applied dismissively to anyone perceived as prudish or overly concerned with small proprieties.
Excessively concerned with propriety
- demureModestly reserved in manner
- properSocially appropriate
- decorousSocially appropriate, dignified
- primnessExaggerated formal propriety
modest · puritanical · strait-laced · uptight · priggish · fussy · fastidious · prissy
Rigorous, without flexibility
- disciplinarianStrict enforcer of rules
- authoritarianFavoring absolute control
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
- austereSeverely simple and unadorned
unyielding · demanding · formidable · no-nonsense · humorless · dour · unsmiling · bespectacled
Old and outdated
- datedOld-fashioned or courted
- frumpyDrab and unstylish
- dowdyUnstylish in appearance
- matronlyLike a dowager
spinsterish · stuffy · fusty · unfashionable · stodgy · behind-the-times · old-timey · quaint
Making accurate again
- nitpickingExcessive focus on trivialities
- faultfindingSeeking out imperfections
- didacticIntended to instruct
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
condescending · hectoring · preachy · moralizing · sanctimonious · know-it-all · bossy · officious
prudish
Excessively concerned with propriety
primness · modest · puritanical · strait-laced · uptight · priggish · fussy · fastidious · prissy · old-maidish
strict
Rigorous, without flexibility
- disciplinarianStrict enforcer of rules
- authoritarianFavoring absolute control
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
austere · unyielding · demanding · formidable · no-nonsense · humorless · dour · unsmiling · bespectacled · finger-wagging
antiquated
Old and outdated
matronly · spinsterish · stuffy · fusty · unfashionable · stodgy · behind-the-times · old-timey · quaint · bygone
correcting
Making accurate again
- nitpickingExcessive focus on trivialities
- faultfindingSeeking out imperfections
- didacticIntended to instruct
patronizing · condescending · hectoring · preachy · moralizing · sanctimonious · know-it-all · bossy · officious · overbearing
- self-righteousnesssanctimony, self-righteousness, moralism, holier-than-thou, judgmentalism
schoolmarmishuninhibited
Free from self-censorship
free-spirited · liberated · wild · bohemian · unconventional
schoolmarmishfreewheeling
Acting without restraint
uninhibited · libertine · bohemian · free-spirited · open-minded