unchaste
Americanadjective
-
not chaste; not virtuous; not pure.
an unchaste woman.
-
characterized by sexual suggestiveness, transgression, or excess; lascivious; bawdy.
an unchaste exhibition.
Usage
What does unchaste mean? Unchaste is most commonly used to describe someone or something considered sexually immoral, especially according to the teachings of a certain religion. It can also be used in a more general way to mean morally impure. The opposite is chaste, which is most commonly used to describe someone who refrains from sexual activity that’s considered immoral. Example: When I went to Catholic high school, my religion teachers always emphasized the dangers of being unchaste.
Other Word Forms
- unchastely adverb
- unchasteness noun
- unchastity noun
Etymology
Origin of unchaste
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at un- 1, chaste
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.
For I tell you she hath so great a power of pleading that, being innocent, she will with difficulty be proved unchaste.'
From Privy Seal His Last Venture by Ford, Ford Madox
It cannot be that the water makes men effeminate and unchaste, as it is said to do; for the spring is of remarkable clearness and excellent in flavour.
From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio
There are expressions in Luther's writings—and in the Bible—that nowadays are considered unchaste, but are in themselves chaste and pure.
From Luther Examined and Reexamined A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation by Dau, W. H. T. (William Herman Theodore)
No one who desires to become holier and better imagines that he does so by becoming more malevolent, or more untruthful, or more unchaste.
From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 1 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole
He attests finally that sapphire preserves courage and keeps the members vigorous, while emerald, hung about one's neck, keeps away Saint John's evil and breaks when the wearer is unchaste.
From Là-bas by Wallace, Keene
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.