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Definition of "vestal" []

  • Roman Mythology Of or relating to Vesta. (adjective)
  • Roman Mythology Relating to or characteristic of the vestal virgins. (adjective)
  • Chaste; pure. (adjective)
  • Roman Mythology A vestal virgin. (noun)
  • A woman who is a virgin. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "vestal" in a sentence
  • "Someone assumed that since I am a "linguist", I'd know the meaning of "vestal"--they wanted to know why they're called "vestal virgins.""
  • "The notion often prevails that if there be in the heart this divine witness of God's Spirit, it must needs be perfect, clearly indicating its origin by an exemption from all that besets ordinary human feelings, that it must be a strong, uniform, never flickering, never darkening, and perpetual light, a kind of vestal fire burning always on the altar of the heart!"
  • "Dalisi began to sketch tin pots with stick arms and stick legs, forming characters such as vestal virgins, traffic cops and the Pulcinella-like comedian."