Monday, August 27, 2012

chased, chaste

Chased or chased is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of  "chase", meaning to run after or pursue, with the intent of catching --
The dog chased the cat until it ran up a tree.
The police car chased the suspect through the town to the highway.

Chaste or chaste ( rhymes with chased ) means virginal or pure, sexually--
Once upon a time, young women and men were expected to remain chaste until they married.
The chaste young man blushed when he heard their lewd talk.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The other boys chased girls, but the young monk remained chaste."

Note--"chasten" ( pronounced chase-enn ) is an old-fashioned way of saying "chastise" ( pronounced chass--tize ) , meaning to scold or berate--
She never failed to chastise the children when they forgot their manners.
Note # 2--"chastity" ( pronounced CHASS-tih-tee ) is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "chaste"--
Nuns take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. 


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