1
: of or relating to the Roman goddess Vesta
2
a
: of or relating to a vestal virgin
b
: chaste
Examples of vestal in a Sentence
Adjective
a schoolteacher who dresses with almost vestal modesty while on the job
Recent Examples on the Web
Leah Dolan, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
There were papal cloaks styled as trench coats, and vestal robes turned into coveralls, but with a solemn finish that showed respect for both the clothes and the creative congregation that wants to wear them.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Sep. 2022
Souza sets out to reacquaint us with that vanished world, where norms obtained and men were men and words had meaning—where the sun rose on the shrines of our ancestors and six virgins ceaselessly guarded the vestal flame.
—Katy Waldman, Slate Magazine, 3 Aug. 2017
Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
The word of a vestal can mean freedom for the enslaved or the condemned, even if only the head of the order can ultimately grant it.
—Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 18 July 2024
With ritual precision, the vestals awaken their miserable charges each dawn and roll them about on their beds of pain while performing ablutions, in the formal movements of which the maidens are highly trained.
—Gabriel Winant, The New Republic, 23 May 2018
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Adjective
These vestal get-ups are, in fact, the latest in a long line of subversive pop culture interpretations of the lives (and loves) of nuns.
—Leah Dolan, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
There were papal cloaks styled as trench coats, and vestal robes turned into coveralls, but with a solemn finish that showed respect for both the clothes and the creative congregation that wants to wear them.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Sep. 2022
Souza sets out to reacquaint us with that vanished world, where norms obtained and men were men and words had meaning—where the sun rose on the shrines of our ancestors and six virgins ceaselessly guarded the vestal flame.
—Katy Waldman, Slate Magazine, 3 Aug. 2017
Noun
Few literary vestals earn a place of their own in the pantheon of writers.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
The word of a vestal can mean freedom for the enslaved or the condemned, even if only the head of the order can ultimately grant it.
—Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 18 July 2024
With ritual precision, the vestals awaken their miserable charges each dawn and roll them about on their beds of pain while performing ablutions, in the formal movements of which the maidens are highly trained.
—Gabriel Winant, The New Republic, 23 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Vestal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vestal. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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