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puritanism
This term carries a dual identity, functioning both as a specific historical designation for the 16th and 17th-century English movement and as a broader descriptor for any rigid moral system. When used historically, it refers to a precise theological attempt to strip the church of perceived Catholic remnants. In a modern, secular sense, it often carries a pejorative tone, suggesting an oppressive or joyless obsession with purity and the suppression of natural human desires.
As an abstract noun representing a belief system or a state of being, it is treated as an uncountable mass noun. It does not typically take a plural form because it describes a conceptual framework rather than individual instances of a thing.
Meanings
Examples
The colony was founded on the principles of strict puritanism.
I cannot stand this stifling puritanism in our small town.
Her lifestyle is a study in modern puritanism.
The laws of the time reflected a deep rooted puritanism.
Why do you insist on such extreme puritanism regarding food and drink?
The movement was a reaction against the perceived corruption of the church and a return to puritanism.
He viewed her modesty not as virtue but as a form of cold puritanism.
The architecture of the meeting house mirrored the austerity of puritanism.
Is this genuine faith or just a performance of puritanism?