1. The practices and doctrines of the Puritans.
2. puritanism Scrupulous moral rigor, especially hostility to social pleasures and indulgences: "Puritanism is the source of our greatest hypocrisies and most crippling illusions" (Molly Haskell).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.