How to Use puritanism in a Sentence

puritanism

noun
  • But the party’s puritanism is at odds with the tastes of young Chinese.
    — The Economist, 25 Jan. 2018
  • The stigma is part of a creeping puritanism that has stifled the arts in Egypt in recent decades.
    — Declan Walsh, New York Times, 8 July 2018
  • There is a certain amount of puritanism that exists in the United States.
    — Ceylan Yeginsu, New York Times, 21 June 2018
  • Even when the proceedings become a touch tawdry, there’s a blessed absence of American puritanism in their presentation.
    — Sam Sacks, WSJ, 25 June 2021
  • The news was at odds with Keillor’s public persona as the gentle, avuncular satirist of Midwestern puritanism.
    — Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2021
  • In my view, forms of puritanism and freedom have coexisted simultaneously in every era.
    — Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Our puritanism, that is, permits and fosters the politically pornographic.
    — Rhonda Garelick, The Cut, 23 Jan. 2018
  • The anti-pop animus of classic rock criticism reflected nothing so much as a neurotic puritanism, or maybe just a snobbish inability to hear the deep beauty of pop.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2026
  • That relationship allowed investigators to paint Muck as both subversive and immoral—a one-two punch of xenophobia and puritanism.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 July 2019
  • Although bikini-esque garments stretch back to Roman times, the 20th century began with a period of great modesty and puritanism.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 June 2026
  • Oil wealth has hidden a woefully unproductive economy, and fuelled Islamic ultra-puritanism around the world.
    — The Economist, 23 June 2018
  • Those seeking a more sobering perspective on the toxic highs of celebrity may want to make the pilgrimage to the Boston area, the cradle of admonitory American puritanism.
    — Ben Brantley, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017
  • As a result, indie rock’s penchant for puritanism and subcultural snobbery was dwindling, and authenticity was beginning to be privileged over obscurity.
    — Emma Madden, Billboard, 26 Apr. 2018
  • Season One established a fallen version of America, explaining that the country collapsed following a rapid decline in fertility rates, which prompted the rise of a totalitarian government founded on puritanism and misogyny.
    — Emma Dibdin, Esquire, 22 Feb. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'puritanism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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