prudery
/ˈpɹuːdəɹi/noun
prudery is spelled P-R-U-D-E-R-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, prudery means “The condition of being prudish; prudishness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prudery is pruderies.
How many letters and syllables are in prudery?
| Letters | 7: P-R-U-D-E-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is prudery?
Prudery appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prudery?
- UK /ˈpɹuːdəɹi/
Prudery has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-prudery.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prudery
- pruderies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prudery mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The condition of being prudish; prudishness
- 2
Prudish behaviour
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prudery in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense condition of being prudish; prudishness:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prudery come from?
First attested in 1709. prude + -ery and from French pruderie.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).