chastity
UK /ˈt͡ʃastɪti/ · US /ˈt͡ʃæstɪti/ noun, proper noun
Forms chastities
- noun The quality of being chaste: the state of abstaining from any sexual activity considered immoral; avoidance of sexual sins. “The monk took a vow of chastity.”
- proper noun (rare) A female given name from English from the virtue chastity.
Synonyms
chasteness celibacy sexual abstention virtue sexual morality
Antonyms
inchastity unchastity incontinence incontinency lust promiscuity
Etymology
From Middle English chastite, from Old French chasteté, a semi-learned adaptation of Latin castitas, equivalent to chaste + -ity.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The state of being chaste; purity of body; freedom from unlawful sexual intercourse.
- noun Moral purity.
Etymology [F. chasteté, fr. L. castitas, fr. castus. See Chaste.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chastity”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details