prude
/pɹuːd/ noun, adjective, proper noun
Forms prudes
- noun A person who is or tries to be excessively proper, especially one who is easily offended by matters of a sexual nature.
- adjective Prudish.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
prig goody-goody puritan celibacist erotophobe antisexualist bluenose goody two shoes killjoy moralist priss
Antonyms
Etymology
From French prude, from Old French prude, prode, feminine of prou, prod, prud (“good, excellent, brave”), from Latin prōde. Related to proud but unrelated to prudent.
English surname, probably a variant of Proud.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A woman of affected modesty, reserve, or coyness; one who is overscrupulous or sensitive; one who affects extraordinary prudence in conduct and speech.
Etymology [F., prudish, originally, discreet, modest; shortened from OF. prudefeme, preudefeme, a discreet or excellent woman; OF. preu, prou, excellent, brave + de of + fete woman. See Prow, a., Prowess.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “prude”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details