prim


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Related to prim: prim and proper

prim 1

 (prĭm)
adj. prim·mer, prim·mest
1.
a. Precise or proper to the point of affectation; excessively decorous.
b. Strait-laced; prudish.
2. Neat and trim: a prim hedgerow.
v. primmed, prim·ming, prims
v.tr.
1. To fix (the face or mouth) in a prim expression.
2. To make prim, as in dress or appearance.
v.intr.
To assume a prim expression.
[Possibly from obsolete prim, formal or demure person, perhaps from Old French prin, first, delicate; see prime.]
prim′ly adv.
prim′ness n.

prim 2

 (prĭm)
n.
A privet.
[Short for obsolete primprint, of unknown origin.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

prim

(prɪm)
adj, primmer or primmest
affectedly proper, precise, or formal
vb, prims, primming or primmed
1. (tr) to make prim
2. to purse (the mouth) primly or (of the mouth) to be so pursed
[C18: of unknown origin]
ˈprimly adv
ˈprimness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

prim

(prɪm)

adj. prim•mer, prim•mest, adj.
1. formally precise or proper; prissy; prudish.
2. stiffly neat.
v.i.
3. to draw up the mouth in an affectedly nice or precise way.
v.t.
4. to make prim, as in appearance.
5. to draw (one's features) into a prim expression.
[1675–85; orig. uncertain]
prim′ly, adv.
prim′ness, n.

prim.

1. primary.
2. primitive.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

prim


Past participle: primmed
Gerund: primming

Imperative
prim
prim
Present
I prim
you prim
he/she/it prims
we prim
you prim
they prim
Preterite
I primmed
you primmed
he/she/it primmed
we primmed
you primmed
they primmed
Present Continuous
I am primming
you are primming
he/she/it is primming
we are primming
you are primming
they are primming
Present Perfect
I have primmed
you have primmed
he/she/it has primmed
we have primmed
you have primmed
they have primmed
Past Continuous
I was primming
you were primming
he/she/it was primming
we were primming
you were primming
they were primming
Past Perfect
I had primmed
you had primmed
he/she/it had primmed
we had primmed
you had primmed
they had primmed
Future
I will prim
you will prim
he/she/it will prim
we will prim
you will prim
they will prim
Future Perfect
I will have primmed
you will have primmed
he/she/it will have primmed
we will have primmed
you will have primmed
they will have primmed
Future Continuous
I will be primming
you will be primming
he/she/it will be primming
we will be primming
you will be primming
they will be primming
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been primming
you have been primming
he/she/it has been primming
we have been primming
you have been primming
they have been primming
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been primming
you will have been primming
he/she/it will have been primming
we will have been primming
you will have been primming
they will have been primming
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been primming
you had been primming
he/she/it had been primming
we had been primming
you had been primming
they had been primming
Conditional
I would prim
you would prim
he/she/it would prim
we would prim
you would prim
they would prim
Past Conditional
I would have primmed
you would have primmed
he/she/it would have primmed
we would have primmed
you would have primmed
they would have primmed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.prim - assume a prim appearance; "They mince and prim"
change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night"
2.prim - contract one's lips; "She primmed her lips after every bite of food"
constrict, compress, contract, compact, press, squeeze - squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle"
3.prim - dress primly
prim out, prim up
apparel, clothe, enclothe, garb, garment, raiment, tog, habilitate, fit out, dress - provide with clothes or put clothes on; "Parents must feed and dress their child"
Adj.1.prim - affectedly dainty or refinedprim - affectedly dainty or refined  
dainty, mincing, niminy-piminy, twee
refined - (used of persons and their behavior) cultivated and genteel; "she was delicate and refined and unused to hardship"; "refined people with refined taste"
2.prim - exaggeratedly properprim - exaggeratedly proper; "my straitlaced Aunt Anna doesn't approve of my miniskirts"
priggish, prissy, prudish, square-toed, straightlaced, straight-laced, straitlaced, strait-laced, tight-laced, victorian, puritanical
proper - marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness; "proper medical treatment"; "proper manners"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

prim

adjective prudish, particular, formal, proper, precise, stiff, fussy, fastidious, puritanical, demure, starchy (informal), prissy (informal), strait-laced, priggish, anal retentive, schoolmarmish (Brit. informal), old-maidish (informal), niminy-piminy We tend to imagine that the Victorians were very prim and proper.
liberal, relaxed, casual, informal, laid-back, easy-going, carefree
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

prim

adjective
Marked by excessive concern for propriety and good form:
bluenosed, genteel, old-maidish, precise, priggish, prissy, proper, prudish, puritanical, strait-laced, stuffy, Victorian.
Idiom: prim and proper.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مُتَزَمِّت في سُلوكِه
upjatý
snerpet
pedáns
yfirmáta settlegur/stífur/formlegur
pabrėžtinai oficialiaipabrėžtinai oficialuspabrėžtinas oficialumas
pārlieku formāls/oficiāls/ieturēts
çok ciddî

prim

[prɪm] ADJ (primmer (compar) (primmest (superl))) (also prim and proper) (= formal) → formal, estirado; (= demure) → remilgado, cursi; (= prudish) → mojigato, gazmoño
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

prim

[ˈprɪm] adj [person] → collet monté inv, guindé(e); [smile] → guindé(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

prim

adj (+er)
(also prim and proper) → etepetete pred (inf); woman, manner → steif, prüde; mouth, expression → verkniffen; (= prudish) → prüde
(= neat) clothes → sittsam, züchtig; house → untadelig, mustergültig; furnishings → steif; (= demure) person → sittsam, züchtig
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

prim

[prɪm] adj (-mer (comp) (-mest (superl))) (demure, person, dress) → per benino; (house, garden) → in cui nulla è fuori posto; (manner, smile) → compassato/a; (prudish) (also prim and proper) → per benino
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

prim

(prim) adjective
(of a person, behaviour etc) too formal and correct. a prim manner; a prim old lady.
ˈprimly adverb
ˈprimness noun
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
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References in classic literature ?
The arrival of a prim personage in clean linen and cloth boots rendered the party complete.
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The Germans were gross and life there was common; how could the soul come to her own in that prim landscape?
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She leaned against her mother and burst into such a loud, ringing fit of laughter that even the prim visitor could not help joining in.
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He was so fastidious and prim about his place that a boy would go to a good deal of trouble to throw a dead cat into his back yard, or to dump a sackful of tin cans in his alley.
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Like every Anglaise, she is rather pinched and prim in public; but it is very easy to see that when no one is looking elle ne demande qu'a se laisser aller!
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You're quite as stiff And prim as if You'd eaten up a poker!"
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What with all the diamonds and white satin and tulle and lace and roses and orange blossoms, prim little Jane was almost lost to sight.
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"I hate to think I've got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China Aster!
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It was rather a failure, however, and after a tour of the picture shops she went to give Maud a lesson, feeling that it was very hard to quench her longings, and subside into a prim little music teacher.
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She was still wearing her walking-dress, prim and straight in its folds about her tall, graceful figure, and her hair, save for the slight waviness about the forehead, was plainly dressed.
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They were joined in a few minutes by a prim, dignified little lady, ridiculously like Mr.
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At some hour of the day with which I was not acquainted (for my watch had stopped for want of winding up), I was set down in a clean little street of a prim little town (the name of which I never thought of asking), and was told that the coach never went any further.
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