virginity
/vəˈdʒɪnəti/ (bre, ipa) · [vɚdʒˈɪnɪti] /vərˈdʒɪnəti/ (ame, ipa) · [vɚdʒˈɪnɪti] /(ˌ)vər-ˈji-nə-tē How to pronounce virginity (audio)/ (ame, mw)
virginity — 名詞
1. the condition of being a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse, oft
童貞
從未有過性行為的狀態
the condition of being a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse, often viewed in society as a meaningful personal milestone
Shanti decided to wait until marriage before losing her virginity.
Shanti 決定等到結婚後才失去童貞。
collocation: lose one's virginity
In many cultures, a woman's virginity was historically tied to her family's reputation.
在許多文化中，女性的童貞在歷史上與家族名聲息息相關。
passive structure: virginity was tied to
Theo felt no shame about his virginity and called it a personal choice.
Theo 對自己的童貞並不感到羞愧，他告訴朋友這是個人選擇。
Dr. Meera explained that the concept of virginity differs greatly across societies and time periods.
Meera 醫生解釋說，童貞的概念在不同社會和時代差異很大。
Many teenagers today feel less social pressure to preserve their virginity than past generations did.
如今許多青少年在保有童貞方面所感受到的社會壓力，比過去世代要小。
- chastity
implies a deliberate, often moral decision to abstain rather than merely the factual state
- celibacy
refers to the ongoing choice to remain unmarried or refrain from sex, not just one's initial lack of experience
- purity
broader and more value-laden; can include moral or spiritual innocence beyond sexuality
- sexual experience
the factual opposite state
- loss of virginity
describes the transition away from the state
用法筆記
Frequently used in phrases like 'lose one's virginity' (to have sex for the first time) and 'preserve one's virginity' (to remain celibate). The word carries different social and cultural weight depending on the context — it may be a neutral, personal, or heavily value-laden term.
常見錯誤
2. a playful or informal way of describing the state of never having tried a partic
生手
初次接觸某活動的狀態
a playful or informal way of describing the state of never having tried a particular activity, pastime, or experience — for example, having 'cooking virginity' or 'skiing virginity'
Kasia had never been skiing before, so she laughingly admitted her virginity on the slopes.
Kasia 從未滑過雪，所以她笑著承認自己在滑雪這方面還是生手。
humorous use: admit one's virginity in [activity]
The team's virginity in international competitions showed in their hesitant first performance.
該團隊在國際賽事上毫無經驗，從他們猶豫不決的首次表現即可看出。
Elena's cooking virginity was obvious when she burned the rice on her first try.
Elena 的廚藝生澀程度顯而易見，她第一次下廚就把飯燒焦了。
Folake finally lost her film-festival virginity when she attended the opening night in Lagos.
Folake 在拉哥斯參加影展開幕之夜時，終於完成了她的電影節初體驗。
Luca lost his online-gaming virginity when his cousin challenged him to a racing game.
Luca 的線上遊戲初體驗，始於表哥向他挑戰賽車遊戲。
- inexperience
neutral and broader; lacks the playful, metaphorical tone of this sense
- novice status
emphasises beginner level rather than the complete absence of experience
- rookie state
slangy and informal, but less common than the virginity metaphor
- experience
the straightforward opposite
- familiarity
suggests comfort and knowledge gained through practice
文法句型
possessive + [activity] virginity
lose one's [activity] virginity
用法筆記
Always metaphorical and deliberately informal. The sense is usually signalled by a preceding possessive modifier or a noun adjunct ('skiing virginity', 'online-gaming virginity'). Avoid in formal or academic writing — a more neutral alternative is 'lack of experience in [area]'.