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 In Zone 6, chaste tree will die back to the ground in the winter and vigorously regrow in spring to a 5 or 6-foot shrub. Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 May 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for chaste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaste
Adjective
  • The shot was clean with a bold recovery, just like a pure Mickelson moment.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Adeleye was outclassed from a pure boxing standpoint, but his heart was on display.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Nevertheless, the formerly pristine darkness of the night sky now has much more light, particularly in the blue and green, from LEDs in cities and towns, lighting roads, public spaces and advertising.
    Richard Green, Space.com, 10 Aug. 2025
  • My desks and tables are littered with stray sheets of paper and an explosion of notebooks, some pristine, some half full, most somewhere in between.
    Dan Rockmore, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • For most of four months, the vibes were immaculate.
    Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
  • The whiskers on the Pacifica blue (pictured) on are immaculate.
    Talia Abbas, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The clean, bright walls along with colorful rugs and hardwood floors can seem impossible for people living in apartments.
    Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2023
  • 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
Adjective
  • Fourth-grade average reading scores in Milwaukee dropped from 196 in 2009 to 179 in 2024, while peer districts have shown modest gains.
    Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 26 Aug. 2025
  • The other two counties, Clinton located outside of Lafayette and Clark across the Ohio River from Louisville, referred inquiries about those partnerships to ICE, which has not responded with records requested by IndyStar. Marion County's Adult Detention Center has more modest numbers.
    Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 26 Aug. 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 29 Aug. 2025.

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