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chaste Definition

chaste (c̸hāst)

adjective

  1. not indulging in unlawful sexual activity; virtuous
  2. sexually abstinent; celibate
  3. pure, decent, or modest in nature, behavior, etc.
  4. restrained and simple in style; not ornate

Etymology: OFr < L castus, pure, chaste: see caste

chaste Related Forms
chastely adverb chaste·ness noun
chaste Synonyms

chaste

modif.

  1. Restrained

    classic, classical, pure, simple, modest, Spartan, academic, severe, prudish, subdued, disciplined, inornate, unadorned; see also modest 2.

    Antonyms ornate*, gaudy*, rococo.

  2. Morally pure

    moral, virtuous, modest, decent, proper, pure, innocent, virginal, immaculate, unstained, clean, unblemished, unsullied, undefiled, uncontaminated, spotless, wholesome, decorous, pure as the driven snow; see also decent 2, innocent 4, pure 2, righteous 1.

    Antonyms unchaste, coarse, debauched, debased.

  3. Sexually abstinent

    virgin, celibate, continent, abstinent, abstemious, platonic, controlled, virtuous, monogamous, frigid, impotent, virginal, unmarried, unwed.

    Antonyms lewd*, lascivious, lecherous.

chaste and virtuous, in this connection, imply forbearance from acts or thoughts that do not accord with virginity or strict marital fidelity; pure implies chastity through innocence and an absence of seductive influences rather than through self-restraint; modest and decent are both applied to propriety in behavior, dress, bearing, or speech as exhibiting moral purity

chaste Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • so: Surely from these designs so pure, so chaste, Bath has been called the emporium of taste.
  • very: The cross in the center of the screen is a very chaste composition.
  • not: She is not chaste but a fully sexual being.
  • exceedingly: The coloring is exceedingly chaste, and the designs highly characteristic.

Modifies a noun

  • kiss: She reaches forward, pulls him into a chaste kiss.
  • wife: Rest of poem " proves " the thesis that you can't find a chaste wife.
  • tree: Chaste Tree is becoming popular in Europe with women to assist with endocrine system imbalances.
  • woman: She never talks against chaste heedless women behind their backs.
  • love: Should we violate our chaste love for Krishna by talking to him?
  • one: Shot on location in Venice, which looks truly gorgeous, Casanova is a likable wheeze, albeit a rather chaste one.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: The nymph, you see, was a maiden, and like Artemis, she preferred to remain chaste.
chaste Quotes

Be warm, but pure; be amorous, but be chaste.

—Rochdale

Casta Diva. Chaste goddess.

—Romani, Felice

Chaste to her husband, frank to all beside, A teeming mistress, but a barren bride.

—Pope, Alexander

My English text is chaste, and all licentious passages are left in the obscurity of a learned language.

—Gibbon, Edward

Take me toYou, imprison me, for I, Except You enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.

—Donne,John

   Alas, it doesindeed seema monstrousthing, but afterall, what is chaste in Constantinople may have the aspect of lewdness in Liverpool, and what in Liverpool may pass for virtueinConstantinopleisfrequently regardedasvice.

—Ford, Ford Madox originally Ford Hermann Hueffer

Browse dictionary entries near chaste

  1. chassis
  2. chasseur
  3. chassepot
  4. chassé
  5. chasm
  6. Chasidim
  7. chaser
  8. chase
  9. Charybdis
  10. chary
  1. chasten
  2. chastise
  3. chastity
  4. chastity belt
  5. chasuble
  6. chat
  7. chat room
  8. chat show
  9. chatchka
  10. chateaubriand