strait-laced

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At 27, with nearly zero name recognition, he horrified his then-agent by turning down a $10,000-a-week TV gig as a strait-laced psychiatrist to do a Mike Nichols theater production for just $110.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2025

In an interview 25 years ago with the German newspaper Tagesspiegel he laid claim to a wilder youth than his strait-laced CV might suggest.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2025

But the very existence of the film, which is loosely based on a seemingly strait-laced community college instructor who moonlighted as a fake assassin for the Houston police, proves just how much they fascinate us.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2024

Last year, they were the strait-laced girl who had detailed notes, flash cards and pens for the borrowing; this year, the burnout who shows up at the end and aces the final?

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2023

I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family’s strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles