maidenly
Like a debutante
Maidenly describes qualities associated with a maiden—modest, gentle, reserved, virginal.
The word is old-fashioned and literary, evoking an era when young unmarried women were expected to behave with demure propriety: She gave a maidenly blush when he complimented her.
The term now sounds quaint or ironic.
Lacking in pretension
- virtuousMorally excellent, principled
- pureUnmixed, without impurities
- celibateAbstaining from sex
- abstinentRefraining from pleasures
undefiled · immaculate · pristine · unsullied · wholesome · decent · respectable · honorable
Innocently unsuspecting
- ingenuousInnocently frank and trusting
- unsophisticatedLacking refinement or complexity
- artlessLacking deceit or cunning
- guilelessFree from deceit
childlike · unworldly · inexperienced · impressionable · trusting · sincere · unaffected · simple
Uncomfortably self-conscious
- coyAffectedly modest
- reservedRestrained in manner
- shyReserved and retiring
- reticentDisinclined to speak freely
timid · gentle · quiet · decorous · unassuming · meek · mild · soft-spoken
Belonging to earlier times
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- datedOld-fashioned or courted
- quaintAttractively unfamiliar, outdated
- VictorianOf a prim era
traditional · prim · prudish · strait-laced · formal · conventional · genteel · proper
modest
Lacking in pretension
abstinent · undefiled · immaculate · pristine · unsullied · wholesome · decent · respectable · honorable · moral
naive
Innocently unsuspecting
- ingenuousInnocently frank and trusting
- unsophisticatedLacking refinement or complexity
- artlessLacking deceit or cunning
guileless · childlike · unworldly · inexperienced · impressionable · trusting · sincere · unaffected · simple · credulous
bashful
Uncomfortably self-conscious
reticent · timid · gentle · quiet · decorous · unassuming · meek · mild · soft-spoken · retiring
old-fashioned
Belonging to earlier times
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- datedOld-fashioned or courted
- quaintAttractively unfamiliar, outdated
Victorian · traditional · prim · prudish · strait-laced · formal · conventional · genteel · proper · decorous
maidenlyunchaste
Sexually immoral
promiscuous · wanton · loose · immodest · impure
maidenlymasculine
Male in character
manly · unmaidenly · mannish · unfeminine · butch
- maiden nameSurname before marriage
- maiden voyagesFirst trips of vessels
- maiden flightAircraft's first airborne journey
- iron maidenSpike-lined torture cabinet
- fair maidenBeautiful young woman
- maiden auntParent's unmarried sister