One word noun for "rule-follower"
I'm looking for a single word noun that would perfectly summarize the stereotypical nerdy uptight virgin student council president.
Basically, a more proper version of the slang word "square": a person who always does what they're supposed to even if it means sacrificing things like fun and happiness and who casts a judgemental gaze on anyone who does otherwise.
I'm trying to describe a certain person, and so far I've got "an OCD, judgemental, paranoid, uptight", but I need a noun to finish it off.
con·form·ist (kn-fôrmst)
n. A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group.
adj. Marked by conformity or convention: "Underneath the image, teenagers today are surprisingly conformist" (Selina S. Guber).
[emphasis mine]
The RHD entry qualifies the definition with "especially unquestioningly," in place of uncritically. The urbanDictionary sounds more like gingerly :)
alternatively,
fa·nat·ic (f-ntk)
n. A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.
Some multi-word answers included because they are idiomatic phrases.
- These have the sense of "snooty, upright, and overly rule-abiding"
- Goody two-shoes*
- Goody-goody*
- Puritan
- Priss
- Prude
- Prig
- These have a sense of "someone who makes things less fun" or "someone who doesn't participate when others are doing something fun"
- Fuddy-duddy*
- Killjoy*
- Stick-in-the-mud*
- Wet blanket*
- Spoilsport
- Party pooper*
* These words are slang
Dogmatist
Noun 1. a stubborn person of arbitrary or arrogant opinions
A common term in the UK is jobsworth, as in "I can't do that [ie break the rules], it's more than my job's worth."
The phrase has contracted to become a one-word noun.
Or how about stickler?