chaste

adjective

ˈchāst How to pronounce chaste (audio)
chaster; chastest
Synonyms of chastenext
1
: innocent of unlawful sexual intercourse
2
: celibate
Monks lead a chaste life.
3
: pure in thought and act : modest
was sincerely trying to be chaste
4
a
: severely simple in design or execution : austere
chaste classicism
the pure, chaste lines of ancient Greek buildings
b
: clean, spotless
chastely adverb
chasteness
ˈchās(t)-nəs How to pronounce chaste (audio)
noun

Synonyms

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Choose the Right Synonym for chaste

chaste, pure, modest, decent mean free from all taint of what is lewd or salacious.

chaste primarily implies a refraining from acts or even thoughts or desires that are not virginal or not sanctioned by marriage vows.

they maintained chaste relations

pure differs from chaste in implying innocence and absence of temptation rather than control of one's impulses and actions.

the pure of heart

modest and decent apply especially to deportment and dress as outward signs of inward chastity or purity.

preferred more modest swimsuits
decent people didn't go to such movies

Examples of chaste in a Sentence

a chaste kiss on the cheek as one would expect, the minister's small talk is always chaste, even though he likes a joke as much as the next person
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Much of this chaste romance takes place in public spaces such as cafes, art galleries and bowling alleys that are strangely empty apart from the lovebirds. —Richard Kuipers, Variety, 29 Oct. 2024 Disney's superhero franchise typically stays very chaste, but witches live to break the rules. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 28 Oct. 2024 Joan gives Keith the valuable First Impression rose and the first (chaste) kiss on the lips. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2024 It’s mostly suited for tween viewers, with tame language, limited onscreen violence and no onscreen sexuality — Pippa’s chaste flirtations with Ravi are kept vague enough to prevent questions of age-appropriateness. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for chaste 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French chaste, caste (also continental Old French), going back to Latin castus "free from, untouched (by the thing specified), free from vice, holy, pure, not sexually promiscuous," of uncertain origin

Note: The association of chaste with the moral precepts of the Christian church and hence the word's Latin source have most likely contributed to the preservation of the s by French speakers. — Latin castus has been taken as a variant verbal adjective of careō, carēre "to be devoid of, lack, be free from" (transitive or with an ablative complement), for which the grammarian Priscian gives the verbal adjectives caritus and cassus. Ernout and Meillet (Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine) take castus as originally a religious term, "in conformity with rules or rites" ("qui se conforme aux règles ou aux rites"), and hence link it with Sanskrit śiṣṭá- "commanded, instructed" (from śā́sti "punishes, controls, commands, instructs"), with other senses secondary, by association with carēre. This is questionable, however, as the meaning "free from, pure" goes back to Plautus and seems primary. Ernout and Meillet regard carēre as without an etymology. Another hypothesis, taken up by J. Pokorny (Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch), sees both castus and carēre as descended from an Indo-European verbal base *ḱes- "cut" (see castrate entry 1); the assumption is that the original sense of carēre was "to be cut off from," which developed into "to be without, lack." This is not convincing as a semantic hypothesis; moreover, the vocalism a would require an undesirable supposition such as *ḱəs-h1i̯e-, with an anaptyctic vowel (schwa secundum) and laryngeal. Compare castigate.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chaste was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near chaste

Chastacosta

chaste

chasteberry

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Chaste.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaste. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

chaste

adjective
ˈchāst How to pronounce chaste (audio)
1
: pure in thought and act : modest
2
: simple or plain in design
a chaste meal
chastely adverb
chasteness
ˈchās(t)-nəs How to pronounce chaste (audio)
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on chaste

Nglish: Translation of chaste for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of chaste for Arabic Speakers

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