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: being in financial difficulties
Synonyms
Examples of uptight in a Sentence
If our flight is delayed, there's nothing we can do. There's no reason to get so uptight about it.
I don't know why people are so uptight about sex.
Recent Examples on the Web
Her way of being ruffles the feathers of pious, uptight neighbor Edith (Colman) who tsks-tsks nearly everyone for not climbing to the highest moral ground.
—
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Suddenly, an uptight Vice bro to my right is freed, starts to quietly chant, and rock laterally.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
Colman plays Edith, an uptight spinster who lives with her elderly parents, and Buckley plays her rowdy Irish neighbor Rose.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
When the band first got formed in 1999, Brian was so uptight about songs of that Smile era.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2024
The crew has planned a surprise birthday party for the uptight and very British Greg.
—Esther Zuckerman, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
School Of Rock follows Dewey, who became a substitute teacher at an uptight elementary private school after being kicked out of his rock band.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2024
As an uptight husband and his considerably hipper wife, Jed Resnick and Emma Stratton shrewdly capture the futility of reliving a more carefree past.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
As Fran talks and talks—not only with Owen but also with her sick sister, Trish (Florencia Lozano), and their other, more uptight sister, Susie (Andrea Syglowski)—it’s hard not to think about how two of Shanley’s lasting interests, on display brilliantly in these plays, fit together.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Suddenly, an uptight Vice bro to my right is freed, starts to quietly chant, and rock laterally.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
Colman plays Edith, an uptight spinster who lives with her elderly parents, and Buckley plays her rowdy Irish neighbor Rose.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
When the band first got formed in 1999, Brian was so uptight about songs of that Smile era.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2024
The crew has planned a surprise birthday party for the uptight and very British Greg.
—Esther Zuckerman, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
School Of Rock follows Dewey, who became a substitute teacher at an uptight elementary private school after being kicked out of his rock band.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2024
As an uptight husband and his considerably hipper wife, Jed Resnick and Emma Stratton shrewdly capture the futility of reliving a more carefree past.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
As Fran talks and talks—not only with Owen but also with her sick sister, Trish (Florencia Lozano), and their other, more uptight sister, Susie (Andrea Syglowski)—it’s hard not to think about how two of Shanley’s lasting interests, on display brilliantly in these plays, fit together.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'uptight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near uptight
Cite this Entry
“Uptight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uptight. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
uptight
adjective
up·tight
ˈəp-ˈtīt 
(ˌ)əp-ˈtīt,
ˌəp-ˌtīt
: being tense, nervous, or uneasy
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