virginal
1 Americannoun
adjective
-
of, relating to, characterized by, proper to, or maintaining a state of virginity; chaste
-
extremely pure or fresh; untouched; undefiled
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
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
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 1978’s “Grease,” she starred as the virginal Sandy Olsson, the new girl at Rydell High School circa 1959, taunted by the in-crowd for her shyness and prim apparel.
From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2022
I had some success with the strings of the lute, but my fingers fumbled on the keys of the virginal.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
