PURITANISM

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Puritanism mean? 

• PURITANISM (noun)
  The noun PURITANISM has 2 senses:

1. the beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects)

2. strictness and austerity in conduct and religion

  Familiarity information: PURITANISM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PURITANISM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("Puritanism" is a kind of...):

Protestantism (the theological system of any of the churches of western Christendom that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation)

Domain category:

church; church service (a service conducted in a house of worship)

Domain region:

England (a division of the United Kingdom)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Strictness and austerity in conduct and religion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("Puritanism" is a kind of...):

sternness; strictness (uncompromising resolution)

Derivation:

puritanical (morally rigorous and strict)

puritanical (of or relating to Puritans or Puritanism)

 Context examples 

For an instant, in his earnest gaze and reverent manner, we seemed to catch a glimpse of the deeper, truer Nelson, the man of the Eastern counties, steeped in the virile Puritanism which sent from that district the Ironsides to fashion England within, and the Pilgrim Fathers to spread it without.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)