Prim Meaning
/pɹɪm/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf a person, their manner or appearance: Formal and precise; stiffly decorous.
adjOf a person: Prudish; straight-laced.
Sentence Examples
That president's secretary is always prim.
She was a rather prim and proper young lady.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old lady was very ____, always wearing a neat dress and speaking politely.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She sat with a ____ and proper posture, her hands folded neatly in her lap throughout the meeting.
Word Origin & History
Of uncertain origin. In the verb sense, first appeared in Thomas D'Urfey's A Fool's Preferment in the year 1688. In the noun sense, first appeared in A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew in the year 1699, meaning "prig." Now obsolete. In the adjective sense, first appeared in Sir Richard Steele's The Funeral in the year 1702, meaning "consciously or affectedly strict or precise; stiffly formal and respectable." Oxford English Dictionary proposed a relation with primp and prink. Chiefly Scottish and U.S.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Philemon was in great Surprize,
And hardly could believe his Eyes,
Amaz’d to ſee her look ſo prim;
And ſhe admir’d as much at him."
— 1708, [Jonathan Swift], “The Metamorphosis of Baucis and Philemon, Burlesqu’d; from the 8th Book of Ovid”, in Baucis and Philemon; a Poem. […], London: […] H. Hills, […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 8:
"God damn it, what does she want of me, this sad, beautiful bridgeplayer of the Fifth Floor, with her air of lost love and her prim carnality?"
— 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
"And although Paul shares an apartment with his prim wife, aptly named Prudence, they rarely see or speak to each other."
— 2024 October 24, Judith Shulevitz, “Michel Houellebecq Has Some Fresh Predictions. Be Afraid.”, in The Atlantic:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old lady was very ____, always wearing a neat dress and speaking politely.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She sat with a ____ and proper posture, her hands folded neatly in her lap throughout the meeting.