virgin forest
2
5.6
- noun
- /ˈvɜrdʒɪn ˈfɔrɪst/
- Specialized
:
bosque virgen
- Only a few U.S. bird species (notably the ivory-billed woodpecker and spotted owl) are confined to primary forest; most U.S. birds have survived in young secondary forest while virtually all the virgin forest of the eastern United States was being logged.
- acres of virgin forest
- last virgin forests
- virgin forests remain
The the pure, pure virgin forest doesn't support that much wildlife.
- The the pure, pure virgin forest doesn't support that much wildlife.
Examples
-
Our Smoky Mountains contain the last virgin forests in the eastern United States.
-
Thick virgin forests covered most of the British Isles.
Fiction book (1998) -
The TV screen transforms into an ENVIRONMENTAL WINDOW that looks out onto a virgin forest.
Fiction book (1990) -
The great logs on the bank have been hewn from the virgin forest and are waiting transportation.
Academic text (2007) -
Although the surrounding spruce and fir woodland is not virgin forest, some of the spruces are estimated to be nearly 200 years old.
Academic text (1998) -
The national park is home to a pristine virgin forest that has never been logged.
-
Explorers ventured deep into the untouched virgin forest, where ancient trees towered above them.
-
Walking through the virgin forest, they marveled at the biodiversity and natural beauty surrounding them.
Synonyms
129
3.8
A natural area not changed by people and without people living there
12
6.6
A forest where people have not cut trees for a long time
Antonyms
How Pristine
- Specialized
2
5.6
- Specialized
12
6.6
970
1.0
1
6.7
2
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a forest largely untouched by human activity' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'virgin' (not previously used/untouched) with 'forest' (woodland). This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g., Spanish 'bosque virgen', French 'forêt vierge') and follows straightforward adjective+noun semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Virgin forest: The noun virgin forest uses virgin in the old sense of 'untouched' to picture a forest that has grown without being cut or changed by people, so it means a natural area left in its original state.