priggish

[ prig-ish ]

adjective

1. fussy about trivialities or propriety, especially in a self-righteous or irritating manner:

   At the beginning of the book, Eustace is an unpleasant, unlikable, and priggish character.

   He never softened his message to please genteel tastes or priggish scruples.

Other Words From

• prig·gish·ly adverb
• prig·gish·ness noun
• un·prig·gish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of priggish¹

prig ¹( def ) + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

It was hardly the first role that allowed him to explore fussy or priggish characters.

From New York Times

Forgetting that he’d ever been way behind the fashion curve, he was appalled, in some priggish, nouveau riche kind of way, that certain passengers appeared in the dining room in slacks and sneakers.

From Literature

Fordham University, the Jesuit institution in New York, claims to have blessed the team with its name, thanks to some priggish divines at the school.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s so insufferably priggish that at school his name, William Orser, has by common consent been elided to the nonexistent word “Worser,” just to drive him crazy.

From New York Times

He’s not a priggish bootstrapper but a plucky bon vivant who does his work with a smile, always “on the alert for business.”

From New York Times