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 Our Lady was chaste, willingly, willfully passive, untainted by the grottiness of ordinary life. Lamorna Ash, The Dial, 6 May 2025 Some medieval and Renaissance artists, for example, portrayed Mary breast-feeding the infant Jesus at a chaste distance, such that the milk spurts of its own accord into his mouth. S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025 Hellbent on destroying the pure, chaste and overly self-righteous preacher who denied her satisfaction, Salome performs a seductive dance at her stepfather Herod’s birthday feast. E.r. Zarevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Mar. 2025 Ford is his usual tough-guy cop, but there’s a sensitivity, a wounded heart, to his character that comes out most powerfully in his chaste love affair with an Amish woman played by Kelly McGillis. Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chaste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaste
Adjective
  • What is somewhat unclear is how much this is pure Wiegman genius, and how much England simply have backups of greater quality than their opponents.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 23 July 2025
  • Cam, 40, inhabits a space similar to Brandi Carlile, her appealing songs making their point in a pure, expressive voice.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 23 July 2025
Adjective
  • Vik’s terroir encompasses a pristine landscape composed of 12 valleys, each with its own microclimate and distinct exposures, and all cooled by Pacific coastal breezes and winds from high in the Andes.
    Alexandra Kirkman, Fortune, 22 July 2025
  • Yes, from my forehead to my neck, my skin is pristine: even and smooth, and glows like no other, I’m told.
    Jackie Fields, People.com, 21 July 2025
Adjective
  • The clinic was immaculate, the technology was more advanced than my local dentist's, and my new teeth feel incredible.
    Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 18 July 2025
  • While the beaches tend to get crowded on peak-season weekends, large swaths of immaculate sand are wide open during weekdays and during the off-season.
    Kara Franker, Southern Living, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • At the end of the dredging, sediment that’s not placed on the beach could be left in the pit and covered with a layer of clean sand.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Feb. 2023
  • Think about it: the record companies forced them to be clean cut and preppy and all those things.
    Gary Gerard Hamilton, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Feb. 2023
Adjective
  • There is typically a seasonal decline in beef prices as grilling season slows down into the fall, but those price declines are likely to be modest.
    Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
  • In fact, some are surprisingly modest — small, functional gas stations not so different from your neighborhood Exxon.
    Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 17 July 2025
Adjective
  • Ghibli managed to do it in a way that was relatively independent and unsullied of that business.
    Ryan Gaur, IndieWire, 10 June 2025
  • The crux of the change for Tarantino is that the experience of theater is still unsullied, whereas with movies, people are on their phones and the theatrical window is teeny tiny.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Chaste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaste. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on chaste

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