What does chaster mean?
Chaster is chiefly the comparative form of chaste, meaning more chaste, pure, virtuous, or restrained in matters of sexual desire. It is used when two people, lifestyles, religious commitments, or personal standards are being compared. Rather than saying that someone is simply chaste, a speaker may describe that person's conduct or way of life as chaster than another's, although the word has a formal or literary tone. Chaster also has a rare, archaic noun meaning a chaste person, especially in religious or historical writing. This sense should not be confused with the modern verb chastise or its agent noun chastiser. In present-day English, the adjective is uncommon outside formal, comparative contexts, while the noun is chiefly encountered in older or deliberately archaic texts. Its principal interest lies in being both a grammatical inflection and, in a limited historical sense, an independent noun.
The comparative of chaste; more chaste, pure, or restrained in matters of sexual desire.
"After the reform, the community kept a chaster life than before."
Chiefly formal or literary, especially in comparative constructions.
A chaste person; one who is chaste or practices chastity.
"The hagiographer presented the recluse as a chaster who had rejected every temptation."
Rare and archaic; the usual modern expression is chaste person.
The plural is regular in form but extremely rare in use.
"Medieval writers occasionally referred to holy men and women as chasters."
Chaster has a double life: it is usually the comparative of chaste, but it can also name a chaste person in rare, archaic usage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does chaster come from?
The adjective chaste entered Middle English from Old French chaste, ultimately from Latin castus, meaning pure or virtuous. English added the comparative suffix -er to form chaster, while the same Latin root also underlies chastity and, through French and Latin forms meaning to correct or punish, chasten. The rare noun meaning a chaste person belongs to the same older English word family.
Related word forms
How chaster is actually used
The adjective is chiefly literary or formal and is most natural in comparisons such as “chaster than” and “as chaster as.” The noun is rare and archaic; modern speakers normally say “chaste person.”
Easily confused with chaster
A chaster is more chaste or, archaically, a chaste person, whereas a chastiser is someone who punishes or reprimands another person.