adjective

inviolate

in-VY-uh-lut/ɪnˈvaɪələt/

Kept safe from harm or violation.

The reliquary remains inviolate beneath its glass cover and unbroken seal.

An untouched sacred reliquary: a small cross-topped casket stands behind a protective glass cover, its lid still secured by an unbroken cord and wax seal.

Etymology

inLatinnot

+violLatinto injure or dishonor

+ateLatinpast-participle ending

The pieces describe something that has not been injured or dishonored. The Latin meaning “unhurt” connects physical intactness with the selected sense of remaining sacred or untouched.

In context

Reading the Past15:50

alternatively it could simply be that this virgin queen wished to go to her grave still untouched by hand of man still inviolate

The End of the First Elizabethan Era

More examples

The constitution declares these basic rights inviolate.
The ancient forest remains inviolate within the protected reserve.
Even during the dispute, the confidentiality of their talks remains inviolate.

Similar words

intact: Emphasizes remaining whole or undamaged rather than freedom from violation.
inviolable: Describes what must not be violated, rather than what remains unviolated.