: 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
Synonyms
Examples of virginal in a Sentence
Adjective
The land is still in its virginal state.
one of the state's few remaining tracts of virginal prairie
Recent Examples on the Web
Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024
In a video for the song, the group in virginal white cotton dresses walk barefoot in an agricultural field outside a wooden cottage.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2023
Even further north — on the country’s uppermost peninsula closest to Nicaragua (an hour from LIR airport) — is Costa Elena, a new eco-luxury community and ocean club with 10 miles of virginal coastline, renowned for kite-surfing and snorkeling.
—Kathryn Romeyn, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2023
Morgan’s Tony Soprano finally showed up in Season 4, in the form of Lady Diana Spencer—the virginal blueblood, twelve years Prince Charles’s junior, to whom fell the unenviable fate of becoming the Princess of Wales.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2023
One result of this approach is that XVI treats the women in its cast astonishingly poorly, pulling from stock archetypes of dark fantasy scheming shrews, manipulative seductresses, and constantly available, virginal targets of romantic affections.
—WIRED, 24 June 2023
The script by Birds of Prey writer Hodson is at its best in the early scenes establishing Barry as a virginal nerd who has gone through college without managing to acquire much self-assurance, even after mastering his superpowers.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 June 2023
With high-piled hair, tight outfits and seductive looks, the three young women of the Ronettes — Ronnie, born Veronica Bennett; her sister, Estelle; and their cousin Nedra Talley — transformed the virginal model that had defined female pop groups since the 1940s.
—New York Times, 12 Jan. 2022
The then-Prince of Wales was encouraged to find a virginal bride, and Camilla went on to marry army officer Andrew Parker Bowles.
—Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023
Neda Taghinejadi, Wired, 13 Feb. 2022
Adjective
Wealthy Upper East Sider step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil (Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Phillippe, now 49) are among Annette's classmates, and the two make a bet that Sebastian can't seduce the virginal new student.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024
In a video for the song, the group in virginal white cotton dresses walk barefoot in an agricultural field outside a wooden cottage.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2023
Even further north — on the country’s uppermost peninsula closest to Nicaragua (an hour from LIR airport) — is Costa Elena, a new eco-luxury community and ocean club with 10 miles of virginal coastline, renowned for kite-surfing and snorkeling.
—Kathryn Romeyn, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2023
Morgan’s Tony Soprano finally showed up in Season 4, in the form of Lady Diana Spencer—the virginal blueblood, twelve years Prince Charles’s junior, to whom fell the unenviable fate of becoming the Princess of Wales.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2023
One result of this approach is that XVI treats the women in its cast astonishingly poorly, pulling from stock archetypes of dark fantasy scheming shrews, manipulative seductresses, and constantly available, virginal targets of romantic affections.
—WIRED, 24 June 2023
The script by Birds of Prey writer Hodson is at its best in the early scenes establishing Barry as a virginal nerd who has gone through college without managing to acquire much self-assurance, even after mastering his superpowers.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 June 2023
With high-piled hair, tight outfits and seductive looks, the three young women of the Ronettes — Ronnie, born Veronica Bennett; her sister, Estelle; and their cousin Nedra Talley — transformed the virginal model that had defined female pop groups since the 1940s.
—New York Times, 12 Jan. 2022
The then-Prince of Wales was encouraged to find a virginal bride, and Camilla went on to marry army officer Andrew Parker Bowles.
—Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023
Noun
Many of the clinics that provide hymenoplasty also offer virginity testing, an examination of the genitalia that claims to determine the virginal (or otherwise) status of a woman.
—Neda Taghinejadi, Wired, 13 Feb. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'virginal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near virginal
Cite this Entry
“Virginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virginal. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
virginal
1 of 2 adjective
vir·gin·al
ˈvər-jən-ᵊl 
ˈvərj-nəl
: of, relating to, characteristic of, or suitable for a virgin
especially
: chaste sense 1
virginally
adverb
-ē
virginal
2 of 2 noun
: a musical instrument resembling a small piano with no legs
Medical Definition
virginal
adjective
vir·gin·al
ˈvər-jən-ᵊl, ˈvərj-nəl
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