Definition of chastenext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word chaste distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of chaste are decent, modest, and pure. While all these words 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

How are the words modest and decent related as synonyms of chaste?

Both 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

How do pure and chaste relate to one another?

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

the pure of heart

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of chaste There were other stories that bothered him more, like a post by a writer who recounted a chaste one-night stand with Tea Party activist and Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell that described her pubic hair. Frank Digiacomo, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026 The songwriting is so chaste and disembodied that an Old Hollywood censor would have no problem greenlighting it. Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 20 Apr. 2026 Rue’s comparatively chaste behavior this season — including in scenes with high school love Jules (the always magnetic Hunter Schafer) — feels like a concession to Zendaya’s huge star power and public image. Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026 Most notable of these other wives is Vrinda, the chaste wife of the demon Jalandhar. Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chaste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaste
Adjective
  • The achievement shows how OpenAI and other AI firms are heavily investing in pure mathematics as a way to benchmark the technology’s ascent towards reasoning—and the strange directions those efforts often take.
    Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 14 July 2026
  • There were new artists emerging who were sort of pure electronic artists like Kraftwerk and Gary Numan and so on.
    Peter Larsen, Daily News, 14 July 2026
Adjective
  • But environmentalists say this pristine location has already been threatened by the arrival of bulldozers along the beach, presumably to begin work on the project.
    Martha Ross, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • Tucked in the mountains of North Georgia this pristine Rabun County lake, only two hours from Atlanta, is a favorite in the region.
    Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 16 July 2026
Adjective
  • And his fit with what the Celtics love to do, which is shoot 3-pointers, is an immaculate one.
    Tony Jones, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • One thing Princess Diana was never without was an immaculate French manicure.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 1 July 2026
Adjective
  • Marble fireplaces and bespoke timber joinery soften a palette of black, white and brushed brass, while parquet floors bring warmth beneath the clean geometry.
    Natalie Hoberman, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
  • In a paper published this month in PLOS One, Alaei and her colleagues propose an alternative - employing a suite of superworms, a kind of hefty beetle larva that can capably pick a variety of animal skeletons clean.
    Ari Daniel, NPR, 17 July 2026
Adjective
  • Additionally, the bill allows cities and counties to allocate up to 20% of the funds toward building affordable homes — a modest but welcome change for Bay Area communities facing persistent shortages of affordable housing dollars.
    Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • Those with more modest means are falling further behind and, perhaps most alarmingly, finding fewer pathways to the economic mobility that has helped define the American dream.
    Phil Mattingly, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
Adjective
  • But the prosecutor leading the case against the Tates, Rareș Stan, had an unsullied reputation.
    Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • For those who have lost everything so others can appear unsullied, the only recourse may be getting what they’re owed in blood.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Chaste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaste. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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