chaste
Americanadjective
-
refraining from sexual intercourse that is regarded as contrary to morality or religion; virtuous.
- Synonyms:
- continent
- Antonyms:
- immoral
-
not engaging in sexual relations; celibate.
-
free from obscenity; decent.
chaste conversation.
- Antonyms:
- coarse
-
undefiled or stainless.
chaste, white snow.
- Synonyms:
- unsullied
-
pure in style; not excessively ornamented; simple.
- Synonyms:
- neat, unaffected
- Antonyms:
- ornate
-
Obsolete. not married.
adjective
-
not having experienced sexual intercourse; virginal
-
abstaining from sexual intercourse, esp that which is unlawful or immoral
-
(of conduct, speech, etc) pure; decent; modest
-
(of style or taste) free from embellishment; simple; restrained
Usage
What does chaste mean? Chaste is most commonly used to describe someone who refrains from sexual activity that’s considered immoral, especially according to the teachings of a certain religion. The state or quality of being chaste is chastity. The word chaste can also be used to describe someone who refrains from all sexual activity—someone who is celibate. When members of certain religions take a vow of chastity, this is usually what it means. Chaste can also be used in a more general way to mean morally pure. Example: When I went to Catholic high school, my religion teachers always emphasized the virtue of being chaste.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chaste
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin castus “clean, pure, chaste”
Explanation
If you belong to a chastity club, you might have to take a pledge to be chaste until marriage. Chaste can be defined as "pure and virtuous," but basically it means "not having sex." This word is related to the Latin source of the verb castrate "to remove a man's testicles," so it's definitely related to sex. And chaste is from the same Latin source as the noun caste "a Hindu social class separated from other classes." So the word chaste means no sex, and the word caste means pure and virtuous.
Vocabulary lists containing chaste
Mythology
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The Merchant of Venice
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The Odyssey
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Jesus is widely thought to have never married and to have lived a chaste life.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
She says the idea of the Sisterhood choosing to be chaste and not have men around is something considered “intensely mysterious and threatening.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024
K-dramas are famously chaste, which is part of their global appeal.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2023
Still, these were details ABC might have accounted for before constructing the sensitive, chaste gentleman fantasy that made everyone weak in the knees.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2023
"That I'll pay with goodwill!" said Dunstan, and with that he leaned across the stall, amid the twinkling jingling of the crystal flowers, and planted a chaste kiss on her soft cheek.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Then blush no more; but let thy chaster flame, That knows no cause, know no effects of shame.
From Thomas Stanley: His Original Lyrics, Complete, In Their Collated Readings of 1647, 1651, 1657. With an Introduction, Textual Notes, A List of Editions, An Appendis of Translation, and a Portrait. by Thomas Stanley
Oh, she is chaster than lily-buds in her sweet body! … but in her spirit she is wedded—wedded to me, Sah-luma, whom thou, O King, hast ever delighted to honor!
From Ardath by Marie Corelli
"Unmatcht for beauty, chaster than the ayre," wrote one poet.
From The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Anne MacDonell
The very crudeness of their speech made chaster yet the childish thought her guileless utterance had caught from spirit-depths beyond our reach.
From Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley — Volume 10 by James Whitcomb Riley
His taste was much simpler, chaster, and less inclined to the florid and Asiatic, than that of Cicero.
From "De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries by Julius Caesar
For decades Bollywood produced the chastest of films: boy met girl, but there were no kisses, hips only thrust during dance numbers, and the audience knew that romance would be followed by marriage.
From Time Magazine Archive
Pa. No, nothing of that, she was one of the chastest Women in the World.
From Colloquies of Erasmus, Volume I. by Desiderius Erasmus
Our profession," he said, "is the chastest of all.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine No. XVI.?September, 1851?Vol. III. by Various
The chastest persons have been, and are, not the virgins and celibates, but the married.
From The Physical Life of Woman: Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother by George H. (George Henry) Napheys
You were the most charming and the chastest ornament of it.
From The Grip of Desire by Hector France
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
