Found 2 items, similar to Puritan.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: puritan puritan n 1: adheres to strict religious principles; opposed to sensual pleasures 2: a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum [syn: prude] puritan adj : morally rigorous and strict; “blue laws”; “the puritan work ethic”; “puritanic distaste for alcohol”; “she was anything but puritanical in her behavior” [syn: blue(a), puritanic, puritanical]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Puritan Puritan \Pu"ri*tan\, a. Of or pertaining to the Puritans; resembling, or characteristic of, the Puritans. [1913 Webster] Puritan \Pu"ri*tan\, n. [From Purity.] 1. (Eccl. Hist.) One who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts, opposed traditional and formal usages, and advocated simpler forms of faith and worship than those established by law; -- originally, a term of reproach. The Puritans formed the bulk of the early population of New England. [1913 Webster] Note: The Puritans were afterward distinguished as Political Puritans, Doctrinal Puritans, and Puritans in Discipline. --Hume. [1913 Webster] 2. One who is scrupulous and strict in his religious life; -- often used reproachfully or in contempt; one who has overstrict notions. [1913 Webster] She would make a puritan of the devil. --Shak. [1913 Webster]