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Upright vs Uptight - What's the difference?

upright | uptight |

As adjectives the difference between upright and uptight

is that upright is vertical; erect while uptight is excessively concerned with rules and order.

As nouns the difference between upright and uptight

is that upright is any vertical part of a structure, especially one of the goal posts in sports while uptight is an uptight person.

As an adverb upright

is in or into an upright position.

upright

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Vertical; erect.
    • I was standing upright , waiting for my orders.
  • * 1608 , William Shakespeare, The merry Deuill of Edmonton , introduction, lines 1–4
    • Fab''[''ell'']'': ?What meanes the tolling of this fatall chime, // O what a trembling horror ?trikes my hart! // My ?tiffned haire ?tands vpright on my head, // As doe the bri?tles of a porcupine.
  • * 1782 , Fanny Burney, Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress , volume V, Book X, chapter X: “A Termination”, page 372
    • Supported by pillows, ?he ?at almo?t upright .
  • *
  • Greater in height than breadth.
  • (figuratively) Of good morals; practicing ethical values.

    • Synonyms

    *

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • in or into an upright position

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any vertical part of a structure, especially one of the goal posts in sports.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=January 5 , author=Mark Ashenden , title=Wolverhampton 1 - 0 Chelsea , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Chelsea improved, with Salomon Kalou denied by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and Didier Drogba hitting the upright .}}
  • A word clued by the successive initial, middle, or final letters of the cross-lights in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.
  • (informal) An upright piano.

    • Holonyms

    * (word clued by successive letters) double acrostic, triple acrostic

    Related terms

    * upright piano

    uptight

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (colloquial) Excessively concerned with rules and order.
    • Don't be so uptight ! You won't go to jail for crossing the street against the light.
  • (colloquial) Sexually repressed.
    • He came from a very uptight religious background, but you wouldn't know that now!
  • (colloquial) Unfriendly and rude.
  • * 1987 , :
    • Withnail: Just because the best tailoring you’ve ever seen is above your fucking appendix doesn’t mean anything.
    Danny: Don’t get uptight with me, man.

    See also

    * anal retentive

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (colloquial) An uptight person.