virginal

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adjective vir·gin·al \ˈvər-jə-n^əl, ˈvərj-nəl\

Definition of virginal

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a virgin or virginity; especially : pure, chaste a virginal young girl
2 : pristine, unsullied a virginal snowfall

virginally

adverb

See virginal defined for English-language learners

See virginal defined for kids

Examples of virginal in a Sentence

The land is still in its virginal state.
one of the state's few remaining tracts of virginal prairie

Recent Examples of virginal from the Web

Thus, the Right deems Trump to be a virginal political victim, a neophyte undeserving of his critics’ vitriol.

— ben shapiro, National Review, "No One Emerges from Trump’s Feud with the Media Looking Good," 5 July 2017
Jane Birkin famously wore a virginal white crop top sans bra while on the arm of Serge Gainsbourg.

— liana satenstein, Vogue, "Tube Tops, Crop Tops, and Halters, Oh My! 15 Summer Shirts for Every Personality," 5 July 2017
Particularly good is Dunst as a virginal spinster who leaps at the opportunity for a bit of romance, no matter how illicit.

— robert w. butler, kansascity.com, "Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Beguiled’ has its charms but should have been more beguiling," 29 June 2017
What may surprise today’s audience is the lack of virginal white.

— alexandra genova, Time, "The Bizarre Ritual of the 19th Century Wedding Photo," 23 June 2017
Today’s game is a pitching battle, one that looks simply virginal compared to the football’s CTE crisis or basketball’s superstar-centric, one-man showboating.

— colin st. john, The Denver Post, "An attack on the game we need," 16 June 2017
Curtain Call: Was a real-life virginal Janet at my performance?

— matthew j. palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'The Rocky Horror Pole Show' at Orlando Fringe Festival," 18 May 2017
Jane the Virgin has an outlandish premise (the virginal Jane is accidentally artificially inseminated at her gynecologist's office) but turns that into a surprisingly intimate story about family.

— kelly lawler, USA TODAY, "5 things to binge-watch with your mom this Mother's Day," 13 May 2017
Cox’s Peggy is a dervish of dance energy wrapped up in a virginal package.

— robert w. butler, kansascity, "Talented cast brings rousing performance of “42nd Street” to the Kauffman Center," 3 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'virginal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of virginal

15th century

virginal

noun vir·gin·al

Definition of virginal

: a small rectangular spinet having no legs and only one wire to a note and popular in the 16th and 17th centuries —often used in plural —called also pair of virginals