straightlaced
Stiffly old-fashioned
Straightlaced describes someone rigidly proper in behavior and morals, often excessively so: Her straightlaced parents disapproved of the relationship.
The word suggests prudishness or inflexibility about rules and propriety.
Also spelled strait-laced, from the original sense of a tightly laced corset—someone bound up, unable to relax.
Excessively strict about morals
- prudishExcessively concerned with propriety
- priggishSmugly self-righteous
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
- VictorianOf a prim era
moralistic · sanctimonious · holier-than-thou · self-righteous · narrow-minded · judgmental · censorious · disapproving
Not easily bent
- starchedMade stiff with sizing
- buttoned-upFormally reserved, emotionally guarded
- properSocially appropriate
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
decorous · reserved · dignified · ceremonious · correct · mannered · polite · genteel
Following long-held customs
- conservativeCautious about altering customs
- conformistOne following accepted norms
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- orthodoxConforming to established belief
mainstream · square · uptight · stuffy · staid · proper · respectable · buttoned-down
Practicing restraint with indulgences
- asceticOne who renounces indulgence
- soberFree from intoxication
- teetotalAvoiding all alcohol
- abstinentRefraining from pleasures
temperate · restrained · self-denying · spartan · frugal · disciplined · moderate · celibate
puritanical
Excessively strict about morals
- prudishExcessively concerned with propriety
- priggishSmugly self-righteous
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
Victorian · moralistic · sanctimonious · holier-than-thou · self-righteous · narrow-minded · judgmental · censorious · disapproving · bluenosed
stiff
Not easily bent
- starchedMade stiff with sizing
- buttoned-upFormally reserved, emotionally guarded
- properSocially appropriate
prim · decorous · reserved · dignified · ceremonious · correct · mannered · polite · genteel · courtly
traditional
Following long-held customs
- conservativeCautious about altering customs
- conformistOne following accepted norms
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
orthodox · mainstream · square · uptight · stuffy · staid · proper · respectable · buttoned-down · by-the-book
abstemious
Practicing restraint with indulgences
abstinent · temperate · restrained · self-denying · spartan · frugal · disciplined · moderate · celibate · chaste
straightlacedpermissive
Tolerant, lacking strictness
licentious · libertine · loose · dissolute · promiscuous
straightlaceduninhibited
Free from self-censorship
easygoing · laid-back · relaxed · loose · free-spirited
straightlacedunconventional
Departing from standard practice
nonconformist · rebellious · bohemian · countercultural · iconoclastic
straighten, straightforward, straightened, straightening, strait-laced, straights, straitlaced, straightness, straightway