prissy


Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

pris·sy

 (prĭs′ē)
adj. pris·si·er, pris·si·est
Excessively or affectedly prim and proper.

[Perhaps blend of pri(m) and (si)ssy.]

pris′si·ly adv.
pris′si·ness n.
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.

prissy

(ˈprɪsɪ)
adj, -sier or -siest
fussy and prim, esp in a prudish way
[C20: probably from prim + sissy]
ˈprissily adv
ˈprissiness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pris•sy

(ˈprɪs i)

adj. -si•er, -si•est.
excessively proper; affectedly correct; prim.
[1890–95, Amer.; b. prim and sissy]
pris′si•ly, adv.
pris′si•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.prissy - exaggeratedly properprissy - exaggeratedly proper; "my straitlaced Aunt Anna doesn't approve of my miniskirts"
proper - marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness; "proper medical treatment"; "proper manners"
2.prissy - excessively fastidious and easily disgusted; "too nice about his food to take to camp cooking"; "so squeamish he would only touch the toilet handle with his elbow"
fastidious - giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness; "a fastidious and incisive intellect"; "fastidious about personal cleanliness"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

prissy

adjective prim, precious, fussy, fastidious, squeamish, prudish, finicky, strait-laced, anal retentive, schoolmarmish (Brit. informal), old-maidish (informal), niminy-piminy, overnice, prim and proper the prissy and puritanical heroine of the novel
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

prissy

adjective
Marked by excessive concern for propriety and good form:
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

prissy

[ˈprɪsɪ] ADJ (prissier (compar) (prissiest (superl))) → remilgado
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

prissy

[ˈprɪsi] adjbégueule
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

prissy

adj (pej)zimperlich; dress, hairstylebrav
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

prissy

[ˈprɪsɪ] adj (pej) → per benino
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
He's all the time curling his mustache and making eyes at Prissy Andrews.
And oh, Marilla, Jane Andrews told me that Minnie MacPherson told her that she heard Prissy Andrews tell Sara Gillis that I had a very pretty nose.
Phillips didn't see her--he was looking at Prissy Andrews--but I did.
Phillips was in the back of the room hearing Prissy Andrews's Latin, Diana whispered to Anne,
Phillips was back in the corner explaining a problem in algebra to Prissy Andrews and the rest of the scholars were doing pretty much as they pleased eating green apples, whispering, drawing pictures on their slates, and driving crickets harnessed to strings, up and down aisle.
"It's such a blessing you're here, Prissy. If you weren't I think I should just sit down on my suitcase, here and now, and weep bitter tears.
What do you say now, Prissy?"--here Bob turned to his wife,--"Isn't it all come true as I said?
Prissy and proper no more, the reinvention of pearls was complete when they appeared in cool clusters in Simone Rocha's spring collection.
* PRISSY We never knew where Prissy (not her real name) came from.
To catch the culprit, Ascot and Rags-n-Bones must match wits with a shifty sorcerer, a prissy ex-governess, and a disturbingly attractive captain before the town consigns itself to the graveyard of history.
Men in silk dressing gowns, prim and prissy secretaries, love-sick heiresses, and a touch of farce.