prim
adjective/prɪm/
/prɪm/
(comparative primmer, superlative primmest)
- (disapproving) (of a person) always behaving in a careful and formal way, and easily shocked by anything that is rude
- You can't tell her that joke—she's much too prim and proper.
Extra Examples- He had rather prim ideas about what things were suitable for the children.
- She knew she sounded prim.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- formal and neat synonym demure
- a prim suit with a high-necked collar
Word Originlate 17th cent. (as a verb): probably ultimately from Old French prin, Provençal prim ‘excellent, delicate’, from Latin primus ‘first’.
Check pronunciation:
prim