Standard Lemma guide

puritanism

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: P Y UH1 R AH0 T AH0 N IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Strict and austere religious conduct.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: lifestyle, religion, theology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Extreme strictness regarding moral scruples.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 2016 October 17, Vicky Spratt, "Work Hard, Work Hard:Meet The Neo-Puritans", Graziadaily.cohttp://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/work-hard-work-hard-meet-neo-puritans Some have argued that the closure of Fabric is symptomatic of a wider shift towards a new puritanism in Britain: a culture in which fun, hedonism and cultural experimentation are no longer valued.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The beliefs and practices of the Puritans.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

strictness and austerity in conduct and religion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sternness, strictness

5

noun

Meaning 5

the beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Protestantism

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French puritanisme, equivalent to puritan + -ism.

Etymology tree English Puritan Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English Puritanism From Puritan + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: пуританизъм (puritanizǎm) — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Catalan: puritanisme — strict and austere religious conduct
  • French: puritanisme — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Hungarian: puritanizmus — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Italian: puritanesimo — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Italian: puritanismo — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Kazakh: пуритандық (puritandyq) — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Portuguese: puritanismo — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Romanian: puritanism — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Russian: пуритани́зм (puritanízm) — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Russian: пурита́нство (puritánstvo) — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Serbo-Croatian: puritanizam — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Serbo-Croatian: puritanstvo — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Spanish: puritanismo — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Swedish: puritanism — strict and austere religious conduct
  • Catalan: puritanisme — practices of the Puritans
  • French: puritanisme — practices of the Puritans
  • German: Puritanismus — practices of the Puritans
  • Hungarian: puritanizmus — practices of the Puritans
  • Macedonian: пуритани́зам (puritanízam) — practices of the Puritans
  • Polish: purytanizm — practices of the Puritans
  • Russian: пуритани́зм (puritanízm) — practices of the Puritans
  • Spanish: puritanismo — practices of the Puritans
  • Turkish: püritanizm — practices of the Puritans
  • Turkish: püritenizm — practices of the Puritans
Real reading context

puritanism in complete knowledge articles