not a virgin

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   Having had sex at least once; no longer someone who has never had sex.

   Grammar: Comes after a linking verb, usually be: 'he is not a virgin.' It describes a state, not an action.

   Patterns

   • someone is not a virgin
   • not a virgin anymore
   • still not a virgin

   By the time they got married, neither of them was a virgin.

   He told the group he was not a virgin, which surprised no one.

   She said she was not a virgin, but she did not want to talk about it.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasefigurativeinformal

   Used of a place, object or situation that has already been used, touched or changed by people.

   Grammar: Mostly in the pattern 'not a virgin X', where X is a thing or place; it keeps the idea of 'untouched'.

   Patterns

   • not a virgin forest
   • not a virgin snowfield

   This is not a virgin forest; loggers worked here a century ago.

   The snow on the slope was not a virgin snowfield by noon.

Common combinations

still a virgin

He was still a virgin when he left home.

lose your virginity

She lost her virginity at nineteen.

not a virgin anymore

After that summer, he was not a virgin anymore.

remain a virgin

Some people choose to remain a virgin until marriage.

Synonyms and how they differ

sexually experienced

A more formal, general way to say someone has had sex; it is not tied to the idea of a first time.

no longer chaste

Sounds old-fashioned and moral in tone, so it fits older texts better than everyday speech.

Opposites

Word family

virgin noun

a person who has never had sex

virginity noun

the state of never having had sex

virginal adjective

pure or untouched, often in a literary or old-fashioned way

Commonly confused: not a virgin or virgin?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “not a virgin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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