chaste
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chaste (c̸hāst)
adjective
- not indulging in unlawful sexual activity; virtuous
- sexually abstinent; celibate
- pure, decent, or modest in nature, behavior, etc.
- restrained and simple in style; not ornate
Etymology: OFr < L castus, pure, chaste: see caste
Related Forms:
- chastely chaste′ly adverb
- chasteness chaste′·ness noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
chaste
modif.
Restrained
classic, classical, pure, simple, modest, Spartan, academic, severe, prudish, subdued, disciplined, inornate, unadorned; see also modest 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.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
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Modifying Another Word
- so: Surely from these designs so pure, so chaste, Bath has been called the emporium of taste.
Modifies a noun
- kiss: She reaches forward, pulls him into a chaste kiss.
Used with adjective complement
- remain: The nymph, you see, was a maiden, and like Artemis, she preferred to remain chaste.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
Be warm, but pure; be amorous, but be chaste.
Take me toYou, imprison me, for I, Except You enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.
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.
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"chaste." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/chaste>
APA Style
chaste. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/chaste
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