celestial

adjective ce·les·tial \ sə-ˈles-chəl , -ˈlesh- , -ˈles-tē-əl \

|Updated on: 5 Jul 2018

Examples: celestial in a Sentence

Definition of celestial

1 : of, relating to, or suggesting heaven or divinity

celestial beings

2 : of or relating to the sky or visible heavens

the sun, moon, and stars are celestial bodies

3 a : ethereal, otherworldly

celestial music

b : olympian, supreme

the celestial impudence of the boy
—Leonard Bacon

4 capitalized

[Celestial Empire, old name for China]

: of or relating to China or the Chinese

5 : eminently pleasing : delightful, heavenly

It's possible that the cuisine has become even more celestial since the return of his former sous chef …
—Tanya Wenman Steel

—

celestially

play \-chə-lē, -tē-ə-lē\ adverb

See celestial defined for English-language learners

See celestial defined for kids

Examples of celestial in a Sentence

stars, planets, asteroids, and other celestial bodies
The late afternoon sunlight gave the room a celestial glow.

Recent Examples of celestial from the Web

Unfortunately, the United States will miss out on the celestial spectacle this month and will have to wait until July 2020 to witness a lunar eclipse, according to NASA.gov.

— fiza pirani, ajc, "Longest lunar eclipse of the century coming up in July," 3 July 2018
And the lucky viewers abroad may have the chance to see both celestial bodies enrobed in crimson at once.

— katherine j. wu, Smithsonian, "The Century’s Longest Lunar Eclipse Will Shroud the Moon This Month," 2 July 2018
This movement will form an astrological aspect known as a conjunction, which refers to any two celestial bodies occupying the same sign.

— refinery29.com, "The Moon Wants You To Pay Attention To Your Dreams On Wednesday Night," 2 July 2018
Michigan skies might see plenty of celestial action tonight between the full moon, Saturn and possibly even the northern lights.

— susan selasky and emma tomsich, Detroit Free Press, "Strawberry moon, Saturn to light up sky tonight," 27 June 2018
This scenario might have seemed more likely in the universe imagined by Aristotle and Ptolemy—a small assortment of celestial orbs spinning around a singular Earth.

— derek thompson, The Atlantic, "But, Seriously, Where Is Everybody?," 22 June 2018
So, though astrology — looking for answers, signs and predictions in the movements of the celestial bodies —isn’t itself a science, there’s a long history of humans looking up at the stars to plan their lives.

— olivia b. waxman, Time, "Where Do Zodiac Signs Come From? Here's the True History Behind Your Horoscope," 21 June 2018
These celestial lighthouses can basically backlight the material that crosses the beam’s path, just as a flashlight beam illuminates unseen motes of dust in the air.

— amina khan, latimes.com, "After years of searching, scientists can finally account for all the normal matter in the universe," 20 June 2018
The United States, however, is a member of the Outer Space Treaty, which bars the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space and only allows for the use of the moon and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes.

— author: makini brice, steve holland, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump orders creation of U.S. force to dominate space," 18 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'celestial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.