Standard Lemma guide

chaste

adj · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • chāst
  • /t͡ʃeɪst/
  • rare: /t͡ʃæst/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: chased
  • rhymes with -eɪst
  • rhymes with -æst
  • CMU ARPABET: CH EY1 S T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Synonym of pure and virtuous, particularly

Sexually pure, abstaining from immoral or unlawful sexual intercourse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Theirs was a chaste marriage, loving and content.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Synonym of pure and virtuous, particularly

Synonym of celibate, abstaining from any sexual intercourse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Theirs was a chaste marriage, cold and sexless.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: celibate, abstaining from any sexual intercourse

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Synonym of pure and virtuous, particularly

Synonym of virginal, innocent, having or providing no sexual knowledge or experience.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Her upbringing had been so chaste that her first experience French kissing ended in a panicked dash to the Piggly Wiggly to buy a home pregnancy test, just in case.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: virginal, innocent, having or providing no sexual knowledge or experience

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Synonym of pure and virtuous, particularly

Synonym of modest, particularly (sexism) in reference to behavior expected of sexually pure women.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I ask again what reason could a chaste woman possibly have for being out so late? and in that part of town? Your Honor, we repeat our motion that you recuse yourself from this case.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: modest, particularly

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Synonym of pure and virtuous, particularly

Synonym of austere, plain, unextravagant, particularly demure, sexually discreet.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: usually

Topics: fashion, lifestyle

Examples

  • The chaste style of most early modern novels is elegant but intensely boring, particularly for teenagers too inexperienced to effectively read between the lines.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: austere, bare, chaste, inornate, modest, plain, quiet, severe, simple, spartan, unadorned, unembellished, unextravagant, unornamented, undecked, ungarnished, untrimmed, unvarnished, particularly demure, sexually discreet

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective

Meaning 6

morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a holy woman innocent and chaste

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: unchaste

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

abstaining from unlawful sexual intercourse

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

pure and simple in design or style

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a chaste border of conventionalized flowers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English chaste, from Old French chaste (“morally pure”), from Latin castus (“pure”).

Across languages

Translations

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَفِيف (ʕafīf) — sexually pure
  • Arabic: زَكِيّ (zakiyy) — sexually pure
  • Belarusian: цнатлі́вы (cnatlívy) — sexually pure
  • Bulgarian: целомъ́дрен (celomǎ́dren) — sexually pure
  • Catalan: cast — sexually pure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 貞 /贞 (zhēn) — sexually pure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 純潔 /纯洁 (chúnjié) — sexually pure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 貞節 /贞节 (zhēnjié) — sexually pure
  • Czech: cudný — sexually pure
  • Czech: počestný — sexually pure
  • Czech: ctnostný — sexually pure
  • Danish: kysk — sexually pure
  • Danish: sædelig — sexually pure
  • Danish: dydig — sexually pure
  • Dutch: kuis — sexually pure
  • Esperanto: ĉasta — sexually pure
  • Finnish: siveä — sexually pure
  • French: chaste — sexually pure
  • German: keusch — sexually pure
  • Greek: αγνός (agnós) — sexually pure
  • Ancient Greek: ἁγνός (hagnós) — sexually pure
  • Hungarian: szűzies — sexually pure
  • Italian: casto — sexually pure
  • Italian: pudico — sexually pure
  • Japanese: 貞淑な (teishuku na) — sexually pure
  • Japanese: 純潔な (junketsu na) — sexually pure
  • Japanese: 貞節な (teisetsu na) — sexually pure
  • Latin: pudīcus — sexually pure
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kysk — sexually pure
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kysk — sexually pure
  • Occitan: cast — sexually pure
  • Polish: cnotliwy — sexually pure
  • Portuguese: casto — sexually pure
  • Portuguese: casta — sexually pure
  • Romanian: cast — sexually pure
  • Russian: целому́дренный (celomúdrennyj) — sexually pure
  • Serbo-Croatian: čedan — sexually pure
  • Spanish: casto — sexually pure
  • Swedish: kysk — sexually pure
  • Turkish: iffetli — sexually pure
  • Turkish: namuslu — sexually pure
  • Ukrainian: цнотли́вий (cnotlývyj) — sexually pure