virginal
1 Americannoun
adjective
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of, relating to, characterized by, proper to, or maintaining a state of virginity; chaste
-
extremely pure or fresh; untouched; undefiled
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of virginal1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin virginālis, equivalent to virgin- (stem of virgō virgin ) + -ālis -al 1
Origin of virginal2
First recorded in 1520–30; apparently special use of virginal 1
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:
Someone with the virginal purity of a political outsider and the intrinsic capability of an insider who’s spent decades cutting deals and keeping the government wheels spinning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2026
Set in Rome in 1971 just before the events of the first movie, “The First Omen’s” central figure is Margaret Daino, a dewy, virginal American novitiate played by Nell Tiger Free.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
As the documentary "Framing Britney Spears" shows, the pop star began her career forced to live up to a virginal "good girl" persona.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2023
Who doesn’t love Vermeer’s 1669-70 painting, “The Lacemaker,” with its soft light and aura of beatific, if not virginal concentration?
From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
In desperation I summoned up the last image I had of her, outlined against the satin pleats in her virginal coffin, with her bride’s blossoms in her hair and a rosary in her hands.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Vermeer's the Music Lesson aka A lady at the virginals with a gentleman.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2012
A motley sisterhood of keyboard instruments — virginals, clavichords, harpsichords — squat on platforms and tables.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2010
The royalty checks helped Mr. Hogwood build up an already formidable musical library of historical instruments, including clavichords, spinets, virginals and fortepianos.
From Washington Post
Fired with enthusiasm, he began to collect viols, lutes, virginals and other old instruments, studied their construction and taught himself how to play them.
From Time Magazine Archive
Likewise the keyboard music of sixteenth-century English composers Thomas Tallis, William Byrd and John Redford, which was originally intended to be sung, was soon adapted, by them and others, into music tailor-made for the virginals.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
