Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

prissy

American  
[pris-ee] / ˈprɪs i /

adjective

prissier, prissiest
  1. excessively proper; affectedly correct; prim.


prissy British  
/ ˈprɪsɪ /

adjective

  1. fussy and prim, esp in a prudish way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • prissily adverb
  • prissiness noun

Etymology

Origin of prissy

1890–95, blend of prim 1 and sissy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Spears also played basketball in school and worked at a seafood restaurant cleaning shellfish and serving plates of food “while doing my prissy dancing in my cute little outfits,” the singer wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

He disparages “the global diplomatic system” as anachronistic, prissy, overpopulated.

From Washington Post

Harry, too, is Dickensian, but more like one of Dickens’s monstrous, red-eyed lawyers: He is cruel, peremptory and, with his dyed hair and prissy bow tie, dandyish in his self-regard.

From New York Times

UIC’s prissy bullies, like fanatics generally, have no sense of irony.

From Washington Post

He was one of those prissy retirees one sees frequently in New England, the sort who subscribe to antique magazines and carry those canvas tote bags they give as gift premiums on public TV.

From Literature