Puritan
['pjʊərɪt(ə)n] or ['pjʊrɪtən]
Definition
(noun.) someone who adheres to strict religious principles; someone opposed to sensual pleasures.
(noun.) a member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries thought that the Protestant Reformation under Elizabeth was incomplete and advocated the simplification and regulation of forms of worship.
Inputed by Dustin--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) 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.
(n.) One who is scrupulous and strict in his religious life; -- often used reproachfully or in contempt; one who has overstrict notions.
(a.) Of or pertaining to the Puritans; resembling, or characteristic of, the Puritans.
Editor: Monica
Definition
n. one aiming at greater strictness in religious life esp. one of a religious and political party having such aims in the time of Elizabeth and the Stuarts.—adj. pertaining to the Puritans.—adjs. Pūritan′ic -al like a Puritan: rigid: exact.—adv. Pūritan′ically.—v.i. Pūr′itanise.—n. Pūr′itanism a puritan manner of life: strictness of life: simplicity and purity of worship: the notions or practice of Puritans.
Editor: Stanton
Examples
- My little English Puritan, I love Protestantism in you. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- In ordinary life, he was a strict Puritan--a silent, gloomy fellow. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Billiards was the game of the aristocracy and the Puritan hated not only the aristocrat, but the style and color of his clothes, the cut of his hair, as well as the games he played. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- There began a puritan reaction in Mecca and Medina against the levity and luxury of Damascus. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- These latter are called Puritan spoons. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- In the days of Cromwell, billiards had been tabooed by the Puritan, not on moral grounds, but rather political. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Differences in religious method and in ideas of toleration led to the separation of the three other Puritan colonies from Massachusetts. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The Puritans were done with. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The Puritans tried to choke the craving for pleasure in early New England. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The English puritans, restrained at home, fled for freedom to America, and established there the four governments of New England. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Editor: Rochelle