as in stick-in-the-mud
informal + disapproving
a person (such as a child) whose good behavior and politeness are annoying because they seem to be excessive or not sincere
The other kids don't like her because she's a goody-goody.
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in pious
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in priggish
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of goody-goody
Fletcher Peters, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024
This somewhat spotty touring production stars Lauren Samuels as the misunderstood villain Elphaba and Austen Danielle Bohmer as the goody-goody Glinda, the iconic characters originally played by Idina Mendel and Kristin Chenoweth.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The Trump rule presumed these goody-goody considerations got in the way of profitability and that a retirement adviser who accommodated them couldn’t fulfill his professional responsibility to maximize his client’s return.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 3 Mar. 2023
Noun
But the tension between evil Max and goody-goody Pippa makes my heart do backflips.
—Fletcher Peters, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024
This somewhat spotty touring production stars Lauren Samuels as the misunderstood villain Elphaba and Austen Danielle Bohmer as the goody-goody Glinda, the iconic characters originally played by Idina Mendel and Kristin Chenoweth.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Gwen Grastorf’s embodiment of the scheming goody-goody Arsinoë is a tad stagy, but the character is still a fine foil for the quick-witted Célimène.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
The Trump rule presumed these goody-goody considerations got in the way of profitability and that a retirement adviser who accommodated them couldn’t fulfill his professional responsibility to maximize his client’s return.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 3 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goody-goody
Noun
-
David Corenswet plays, quite literally, a stick-in-the-mud character.—
Brian Davids,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
-
In the Herbert Ross film, Bacon played big-city teen Ren McCormack, who moves to the small town of Bomont, where its stick-in-the-mud local minster, the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), has instituted a ban on dancing.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
9 Nov. 2023
Adjective
-
Jill’s teenage son Brad (George Ferrier) is just as calculating, if not nearly as savvy, pressuring his pious girlfriend Abby (Madison Wolfe) for a repeat of their prom-night hookup while pursuing other partners.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
21 July 2025
-
Those healthy enough were put through a daily regimen of religious education and physical schooling intended to train them to be pious and obedient.—
Ann Foster,
JSTOR Daily,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Seafood: Tuna, sardines, shrimp, crab, and halibut are all good sources.—
Patricia Weiser,
Verywell Health,
23 July 2025
-
The bay serves as a crucial nursery for young sandbar sharks, which primarily eat fish and crabs.—
Irit Skulnik,
Baltimore Sun,
22 July 2025
Adjective
-
But Europeans cannot simply revert to a moralistic tendency to tell others what to do.—
Josep Borrell Fontelles,
Foreign Affairs,
27 June 2025
-
The same moralistic spirit that once defined Minnesota’s politics now fuels passionate polarization.—
David Schultz,
New York Daily News,
17 June 2025
Adjective
-
And then there’s Carrie, who is a heightened version of her lesser traits from SATC: prudish, private and lacking in humility.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
-
But Townsend Warner’s takedown of prudish Victorian morality is only getting started.—
B. Pietras
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
The father, Buddy Smart (Bryan Cranston), is the clan’s second-rate crackpot visionary, a cockeyed optimist who dresses in fuddy-duddy jackets and never knows where the next paycheck is coming from.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
11 June 2025
-
Her characters were women whose roles often implied their own eventual replacements: teachers, fading former love interests, fuddy-duddy old-fashioned relics.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
27 Sep. 2024
Adjective
-
Of course, most of these sanctimonious snore-mongers linger on in one shrunken form or another, still screaming obscenities and shaking their fists at the moon.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
28 June 2025
-
The smug and sanctimonious tenor of their briefing makes that plain.—
Christie D’Zurilla,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
His work was polished, prim, and proper at a time where society prioritized all things polished, prim, and proper.—
Elise Taylor,
Vogue,
30 June 2025
-
And, most explosively, prim and proper Aurora Fain, who bedecked herself in geegaws for a night at the opera, is left reeling after her husband announces he’s fallen in love with another woman.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Goody-goody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goody-goody. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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