as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas
a fuddy-duddy who thought that anyone too young to vote shouldn't be out past 8:00 p.m.
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as in stodgy
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Recent Examples of fuddy-duddy
William Earl, Variety, 30 Nov. 2025
To some, Superman is a fuddy-duddy in a cape.
—Ken Makin, Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 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
The good news is that for every fuddy-duddy like myself who can’t seem to get on board with crowdfunding kids’ lives, there are twice as many generous, kind-hearted individuals willing to give a little—or a lot—toward schools, sports, and charities.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 3 Feb. 2024
Another group of screenwriters have mocked Ms. Lombardini online as a fuddy-duddy who hangs out at chain restaurants, the taunt being that no Hollywood person would be caught dead in one.
—John Koblin, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Noun
For someone who’s constantly on speakerphone, Tommy sure is a fuddy-duddy about using it correctly.
—William Earl, Variety, 30 Nov. 2025
To some, Superman is a fuddy-duddy in a cape.
—Ken Makin, Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 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
The good news is that for every fuddy-duddy like myself who can’t seem to get on board with crowdfunding kids’ lives, there are twice as many generous, kind-hearted individuals willing to give a little—or a lot—toward schools, sports, and charities.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 3 Feb. 2024
Another group of screenwriters have mocked Ms. Lombardini online as a fuddy-duddy who hangs out at chain restaurants, the taunt being that no Hollywood person would be caught dead in one.
—John Koblin, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fuddy-duddy
Noun
-
Six Supreme Court justices were there—only the conservatives.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But other conservatives, including Senator Ted Cruz, objected to the heavy hand of government approach.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Luxury ships often lean stodgy, yet Silver Nova offers that upbeat, higher-energy feel that upper-premium and premium lines provide.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Apr. 2026
-
This is the story of Cukor’s private war against a stodgy Pentagon bureaucracy.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The front office also faced growing concerns about whether Reese’s presence would deter the signing of returning veterans and key free agents the Sky had targeted.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Two Patriots veteran free-agent additions, outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, addressed the media on Thursday as the offseason workout program wrapped up for the week.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish playing Aunt Sassy, a dowdy sidekick character.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Memorably dowdy fashion notwithstanding, the juicy role — part Nurse Ratched, part Jack Torrance — launched Bates into the Hollywood ether following years of false starts.—
Darren Franich,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There’s no old fogey-ness to Lorne.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2026
-
For the benefit of us old fogies?—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But rather than simply repeat the even-then ossified list of events leading to the invention of photography and the medium’s later innovations, the book uses a series of stories, reminiscences, and tall tales to describe how photography transformed everyday (and not so everyday) experience.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
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Lockhart, a mathematician who taught first at Brown University and UC Santa Cruz and then for many years at Saint Ann’s, a progressive private school in Brooklyn, argues that the injury is due to our ossified K–12 mathematics curriculum.—
Dan Rockmore,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Bostwick starred as the naive stick-in-the-mud and fiancé of Janice, Brad.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Fuddy-duddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fuddy-duddy. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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